Come the Maëlstrom
by Furor Scribiendi
Summary: Continuation of En Las Montañas. Back at Hogwarts, Harry must deal with being thrust back into the limelight and everything else including Snape. And Lucius must deal with Lord Voldemort and his ire while his own life heads towards very shaky ground. DONE
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is gonna be a fairly lengthy Author's Notes. That being said, this is the next thing that needs addressing: 

If you have not read _**En Las Montañas**_, then please, stop right here. Click on the link to my page and read it. This is the continuation of that fic. Ergo, this will make absolutely no sense if you attempt to read it, and character motivations and actions will just plain stump you. 

That being said if you're here because of how I ended _**En Las Montañas**_ - ^.^;; - just....whoa, all of y'all calm down! I did say I was writing a second part. Guess I should have said _continuation fic_ instead. ^.^;; My bad. No way could I leave it at that. 

This is how you know I read every single review. I need to get out more. Anyhoo, thank you to: DarkQueenD, Dyane, anon, SiLvErFaTeD, Saavik13, e, HPIceAngel, Jen, Immortal Memories, Squrlie Jack, Prongs, Bookworm, Shinigami Liliz Black, Plastraa, xikum, MustIBeAMalfoy, bakachan17, famlia, Lady Shang, DaughterofDeath, Final Spell, emeraldtwinklingstar, Jazzylady, fidelio-fickles-revenge, frizzy, Janai, Tyrana, blackunicorn, Ann, TigerBlak, Cadeyrn, linny, MinaXP, CrimsonTearsOfPain, Aliexx, Felinity, ambrezwenko, lexie-girl88, Bacon Bits, Stephanie, Cliffe, Sadie Leigh, Vicious Lily, Cyberpunk2909, RhianwynCarma, Realm of darkness, twilight witch, SilverWolf7007, Iced Flame, Miss Lesley 

Damn…that's a lot of people when I look at it that way. *stops to count* 50 people… wow… just… wow! Thank you all for your reviews. You gave me something I've been craving for a good long while now. Feedback. Good critical feedback! =) Made my day to come home from boring lectures and find nice long reviews filled with questions. 

Anyways, addressing some of the things people asked me concerning the epilogue and some issues: 

"_And this better not turn into a Snarry fic._" - **Plastraa** - A Snarry fic: Hell no! No way in bloody hell; hell itself would have to freeze over and then some before I even CONSIDERED that. I like a good Snarry fic - more like love…such as the _**If You Are Prepared**_ series - but I gots to get Lucius and Harry back to shagging! Pronto! Besides, I've got a Snarry fic already; simply finishing it and working on the kinks before I post it here…writing kinks that is. Yes…writing kinks…. ¬¬ 

"_You are cruel and horrific to Snape this entire chapter, poor guy. But his actions are very very believable, good job on keeping him in character. And finally, squee, so happy you're writing a sequel. I didn't want the story to end, and now._" - **Bookworm** - No, I could let it rest either. And I managed to get one major thing out the way, so away I go! I'm trying hard to keep Snape in character, but considering some of the things I have planned, I'm gonna be pushing myself a bit. But I love the challenge of it. And on a completely unrelated side note, I simply couldn't resist giving Snape an eye tic….it just seemed to work far too well. Chalk it up to artistic license. 

"_And did they couple get out okay? And is Harry going to explain to them what happened? And wouldn't the order have questioned them?_" - **Saavik13** - Harry doesn't explain when happens to them yet. That's later on in the fic. In regards to if Ernesto and Valencia got out OK, and if the Order questioned them….well, you'll see ;) 

"_This story has so much potential for a full-length epic fic!_" - **xikum** - I thought of writing it as one great big long fic, but realized what I would be getting into. So I opted to break it up into parts. I love reading full length epic fics, but writing them takes a lot of work. Like my other Harry Potter fic I want to finish writing it completely before I post it here. God knows I have enough background information for it. I made a bloody timeline for it! XD 

Hrm, I believe that about wraps it up. Certainly doesn't need to be any longer. Here's the first chapter! Enjoy! 

_______________________________________________________

_**

Come the Maëlstrom

** _

Chapter One 

The wall still looked the same. It hadn't changed during the week and a half that Harry had spent most of his time staring at it, lost in quiet, rambling contemplation. He'd been doing that a lot since Snape had come to see him. It hadn't exactly been a pleasant talk. Snape was fairly bursting with rage, and Harry himself was simmering with sullen, selfish anger. 

The conversation had been awkward and terse to start with and lasted for a record three minutes before Snape said something to make Harry blow up nicely. He knew he was playing along with Snape's ploy, but at the time, he just hadn't cared. The words had been hurled and they were nothing short of hurling hexes at one another when Harry decided to was time for Snape to take his leave; of which Snape did very glad with the spitting words that he never wanted to look upon Potter's spoilt bratty face again. Harry had gracefully replied he'd rather swallow Veritaserum and trounce up to Voldemort - with a heavy emphasis on Voldemort - and spill his guts out than have to deal with a hideous bitter old man like Snape. 

Needless to say, he wasn't in much of a mood to be talking to anyone at the moment, much less leaving the quiet solitude of his chambers. He'd spent most of his time sleeping and picking at his food listlessly. A large portion of his time was spent curled up on the couch with a pillow and a blanket, staring a bit morosely at the wall as he allowed his mind to wander. 

The one thing Harry liked about the wall was that it didn't ask questions. Not like everyone else would do the minute he showed his face. Wasn't he allowed to be selfish for at least once in his life? What was probably the one good thing to happen to him had been ripped away and he wasn't even sure if he could get it back. The plan seemed so certain and perfect back in Spain. But when Harry looked at it again, sitting in his quarters in Hogwarts, it all seemed to be flimsy, the bare hope of two people attempting the escape the roles that others had deemed for them. It could still work, but there were so many variables in his eyes that needed compensation that it was almost ludicrous. 

The main glaring error of the plan that struck Harry was that Lucius would be engaging in most of the deception. Lucius didn't know the first thing about Occlumency. And Lucius was one of Voldemort's top Death eaters. Voldemort was a highly accomplish Legilmens. Lucius would simply be vulnerable and not even realize it. Needless to say, Harry had quickly realized this and carefully crafted that note to Dumbledore. Hopefully, something had been done to ensure that Lucius wasn't as vulnerable any more to Voldemort. 

Harry would obviously have to engage in some form of counter measure, but he was mainly kept in the dark about what was going on in the Order and any developments that may have happened that he couldn't be sure that anything he tried would work, or possibly expose Lucius. Simply writing that one note had been risk enough. 

He sighed, curling up more against the pillow. Maybe he should just go back to sleep. That always seemed to help with the miserable feeling inside. He didn't quite care if he had 'his' responsibilities to take care of at the moment. He may have been the Boy-Who-Lived, but even he needed his moments away from everyone. And if it meant shutting everyone out for awhile so he could wallow alone in uninterrupted peace, then so be it. Not to mention- 

"Harry?" 

Looking up at the sound, Harry stood up from the couch and peered into the hallway, seeing Bucephalus standing in the portrait. If there was one thing Harry liked about these quarters, it was this double sided portrait. Bucephalus essentially allowed Harry to screen his visitors. 

"Yes Bucephalus?" he asked, stifling a yawn. Sleeping sounded like a very good option at the moment. 

"You have more visitors." 

Harry sighed. "Who is it this time?" 

"Dumbledore, Ron and Hermione," Bucephalus said. "I feel I should state that I am as concerned as them." 

Great; now Bucephalus was getting started. "What do they want?" he asked with a heavy sigh. 

"They're worried about you. You haven't come out of your quarters in almost…two weeks now." 

Harry rubbed his brow. "All right, let them in. I'll be in the…room. You know the one…" 

"The parlour?" 

"Yeah, whatever," Harry said with a half hearted wave as he disappeared back into said room. 

It was just as Harry was sitting down that he heard the sound of the portrait swinging open. He sat up a bit more, hugging the cushion as he resumed staring at the wall for a little bit longer. The couch sagged beside him and he glanced over to see Hermione giving him a kindly concerned look, Ron sitting behind her. Dumbledore sat down in the single chair on the other side of Harry, resting his elbows on the arms and pressing the tips of his fingers together with a pleasant expression on his face. Harry didn't know what he found to be smiling. 

"You know," Ron said in a rather offhand manner. "That guy could try being bit nicer. I think he likes poking fun at people." 

"Bucephalus made fun of Ron's freckles; said they made him look sickly." Hermione whispered as she leaned in closer. 

Ron gave Hermione an accusing glare that clearly said she wasn't helping much before he craned his neck to look over her shoulder at Harry. "I was half-expecting you to be asleep again like all the other times." 

"Well, I'm up now." Harry said with a slight shrug. 

"Are you feeling better?" Hermione asked, peering at him. "You really didn't look all that good when we brought you here." 

"Yeah, a bit better," Harry murmured. "Thanks." 

"You sure?" Hermione pressed. "To be honest, you still don't look very well." 

Harry didn't say anything for a moment. What was he supposed to say anyways? That he couldn't get to sleep easily because Lucius wasn't beside him? Or that he didn't have very much appetite since he'd come back here? Though Harry had a feeling it had something to do with the sudden deprivation of practically daily sex. 

"Just a slightly upset stomach, nothing else." He finally replied. 

Hermione opened her mouth once more, but stopped when Ron nudged her in the side gently with his elbow. Harry could see the cogs quite literally shifting and whirring in Hermione's mind. 

"So," he began after clearing his throat for a moment. "You guys are all right? You made it out of the battle fine?" 

Hermione glanced at Ron. "You may as well show him now. And properly." she added a bit firmly. 

"Do you always have to ruin my fun?" Ron pouted. 

"What's she talking about?" Harry asked, unable to resist smiling. 

"This." 

And with that Ron popped his right eye out of his head and held it out in his palm. Harry watched as it rolled around slightly in his palm, the brown pupil looking around at things. 

"Is that an eye like Moody's?" he asked peering at it. 

"Yup." Ron said with a broad grin. "I _could_ tell you what Snape does when he goes into his office during-" 

"Ronald," Dumbledore said quietly. 

"Oh, right Sir." Ron said flustering a bit as he popped his eye back in. 

"Of course what Ron _isn't_ telling you," Hermione started. "Is that he got caught by McGonagall when-" 

"Me?! It was the both of us who got-" Ron started. 

"How'd you lose the eye Ron?" Harry asked, quickly ending their beginning argument. 

Ron glared at Hermione for a moment longer. "You know the battle, the one you disappeared in?" he said. "I got hit in the face with a Melting curse. Everything but my eye grew back." 

"How come they couldn't grow your eye back?" Harry asked. 

"I think I had to do the fact that it could have damaged his other eye very badly just to clean out all the dead nerves and try to repair it. And there wasn't a very good chance that the new eye would work if that happened, so-" Hermione started. 

"I _don't_ know half the stuff she's talking about," Ron muttered. "My eye works fine, and that's good enough for me." 

"It has to do with optic nerves and a certain part of your brain, Ron. Muggle biology is _very_ useful to know Ron, especially in a situation like the one you were in." Hermione said with a rather sanctimonious nod of her head. "Could you imagine what might have happened if Professor Snape hadn't told Madame Pomfrey not to use that potion? He saved your sight Ron." 

"Don't remind me," Rom grumbled. 

Hermione didn't say anything for a moment before she looked at Harry. "So, where exactly did you end up?" 

"Spain. The countryside," Harry said, feeling the smile disappear from his face. 

"Is something wrong Harry?" Ron asked, holding the eye on the palm of his hand around Hermione. 

"Ron!" she turned around and smacked him lightly on his other arm. 

"What?!" Ron demanded a bit defensively. "You're in the way! And I can't look through you! All I'd see is nothing! And you already yelled at me when I did that by accident!" 

Hermione huffed and looked back at Harry. "Really Harry, what's the matter?" 

"You can't answer the question," Harry said looking at Dumbledore. "But I was wondering," 

"Yes Harry?" Dumbledore said in a calm voice. 

Harry sat there for a moment, wondering just what it was that made Dumbledore seem so…distant, and why? 

"What is it Harry?" Dumbledore asked. 

"The couple that was in the house…are they all right?" 

"They're all right," Dumbledore said with a nod of his head. "We questioned them, but they weren't able to tell us much, so we Oblivated their minds for their own sake. All traces of your presence were removed from the house. Ah, speaking of which," 

Harry watched as Dumbledore reached into his pocket and drew something out before tapping it with his wand, making it swell to full size. It was the three books from the bookstore; the three books that Lucius had essentially picked out for him. 

"Are these yours?" 

Harry simply nodded his head, looking at the books. 

"And the concern you had concerning Lucius Malfoy has been taken care of." Dumbledore said with a smile. 

"Lucius Malfoy?" Hermione asked a bit sharply. 

"I saw him in the area," Harry said a bit glibly. "And I didn't want to take any chances. You know he'd hand me over to Voldemort right away." 

"Quite right. Oh Ron, we've been saying his name for two years and you whimper every time; it's getting a bit old now." Hermione said with a roll of her eyes. 

Harry didn't say anything as Hermione chastised Ron for a few seconds longer. Already just sitting here and saying what they expected to hear was chafing at him. He didn't want any more questions directed at him all of a sudden. 

"How did you guys find me exactly?" 

That seemed to break Hermione out of her miniature lecture to Ron. "Oh, Professor Snape reported that Nott knew someone who'd seen you and apparently Lucius Malfoy as well. Nott questioned him and then killed him." 

"Did the man have a name?" 

"Um…Orelan Rapsodia I believe." Hermione paused "You knew him?" 

"I knew him," Harry said simply. "But don't tell me the Order came charging down into Spain on a rumour." 

"Well…" Ron said with a grudging tone. "We seen it in a pensieve that Snape brought. Nott put the memory in a pensieve. I'm guessing that Snape stole it from him, modified his memory and brought it here." 

"And," Dumbledore said, leaning forward and pulling out the bookmark. "We used this." 

Harry looked at the bookmark, suddenly wishing he'd never taken it. "Oh, really?" he managed to make himself sound curious. 

"The bookmark was attuned to your magic and your magic alone," Dumbledore started. 

"Then wouldn't something have happened when I picked it up?" 

"Not to the bookmark. But it caused a small magical flare to be sent back to Order headquarters on a map charmed to show when this was activated." 

Small wonder then that nothing happened when Lucius touched it. Harry didn't say anything for a moment. "I see. And what were the chances that Voldemort could have found this out and capitalized on it before you were able to do anything?" 

Dumbledore didn't say anything for a moment. "The chance was very small; he would have to know exactly what to look for and where since he didn't have a cued map like we did." 

"A necessary risk, then?" Harry murmured a few moments later. 

"Yes," Dumbledore replied. "I hope you understand we were left with very little choice in finding you before Voldemort did." 

"I understand completely," Harry said managing a polite smile. "I'm just glad that everyone is safe, especially the couple…even if they don't remember me any more." 

"Quite true," Dumbledore said with a nod of his head before he regarded Harry with a serious light in his blue eyes. "There's something I want to ask you Harry," 

"All right," Harry waited to hear what could possibly be said next. 

"I'd worry a good deal less if you were back in the Gryffindor dorms; just so you have some company with you, rather than being here by yourself." 

Harry froze for a moment, not saying anything at all. He could feel something inside him chill at that thought and balk quite violently. "I'm staying here. I don't feel up to that yet quite yet, Sir." He didn't see himself leaving these chambers anytime soon 

"Of course. When you're ready." Dumbledore said with acquiescing bow of his head. "The important thing is that you're back and you're safe." 

Ron and Hermione gave murmurs of assent, and then a silent moment descended on the small parlour. 

Harry looked between them, stifling a yawn. "If that's all…" he said. 

"We just wanted to make sure you were all right," Dumbledore said rising from his chair. "We'll leave you to rest now." 

Ron and Hermione nodded in agreement as they rose too, saying they would come and visit him again tomorrow if he didn't mind. Harry was vaguely aware of his head shaking and then their steps out into the hallway. The sound of Bucephalus' portrait swinging open and thudding back shut greeted him. 

"Bucephalus," He said a bit rhetorically as he stepped out into the hallway, 

"Yes?" Bucephalus asked. 

"You know how I just said to let Dumbledore in?" 

"Yes," Bucephalus sad slowly. "What about it?" 

"Never let Dumbledore in here under any circumstances. Well except if I'm on the very verge of death. And don't start splitting things, such as "Harry's sleeping _like_ the dead' or anything like that, or I'll find a new portrait to guard my rooms. Got it?" 

"Got it," Bucephalus said. "So even if you say to let him in, don't let him in?" 

"Exactly. See? We get along fine," Harry said. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go take a nap." 

Harry stopped in the parlour, scooping up the books and making his way to the bedroom, resting them on his bedside table, looking at the bright reflective spines before he got under the covers and curled up, his mind drifting back to when he'd realized he really was back at Hogwarts in England. 

At first he'd just thought it was all some sort of very bad dream. And then that he'd eventually wake up and find himself asleep in the squeaky old bed, wrapped up in Lucius' arms. He'd say he'd had a really silly dream and then they'd go out and take care of what needed to be done. Lucius would curse the goats, Harry would laugh and they sneak off for one or two quick shags before heading back down for dinner at the house. 

He should have known something was horribly wrong the moment Snape strode into the rooms with a barely concealed belligerent and explosive expression on his face. That was when it all came crashing down around Harry, quite hard as well too. Snape had been quite intent on being brutally honest and, unwittingly, shattering Harry's little illusion. 

And Harry had been mad at Snape. Furious, was more the word. All the anger and resentment at being yanked away so abruptly he'd directed at Snape. It'd taken a full three days of brooding to realize that Snape had more than likely been following orders; orders that more than likely came from Dumbledore. 

Harry hadn't been very pleased with that realization. It was much easier to hate Snape in his skulking bat-like menace. Dumbledore was the nice one who gave you candy and talked to you. Suddenly, what Lucius had told him that day three months ago seemed horridly clear. And Harry found himself very disgusted at the fact that Dumbledore had essentially ripped him away from one of the rare good things in his life just so Harry could play and fulfil the role of Dumbledore's glorified and sanctified little killer. 

And the longer Harry mulled on it, he saw more and more strings that led back to Dumbledore. Not to mention that fact that everyone seemed to be falling over themselves to do something when Dumbledore asked them. Maybe that why Snape was so sour all the time; he didn't seem to like having to follow _someone else's_ orders, let alone conflicting orders from two opposing people. Harry wouldn't be all that surprised if that was the reason. He turned over onto his side, contemplating the spines of the books. The sooner this war was over the sooner he could cut Dumbledore from his life and be better off. 


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N**_: o.0 *blinks* What's this? An new chapter posted? That's right! I was going insane from working on my report so much that I took a day off and spent it typing up this chapter and inspecting it over. Feel much better now. And now, I have to go back to my report. XP Anyhow, replies to reviews and stuff, and then chapter! *hums to GLAY's _Zutto Futaride_* 

_______________________________________________________

_**Dyane**_: Thank you, but really, you don't need to bow or anything. I'm glad you liked _En Las Montañas_ and I hope you like this fic as well…well, what you've read so far. ^^ 

_**SiLvErFaTeD**_: Thank you. ^.^ 

_**Bookworm**_: Yuppers, something of a Brooding!Harry, and a bit of Scheming!Harry later on. And about Ron's eye… *sings in a singsong voice* I'm not saying…. 

_**HPIceAngel**_: Yes, finally posted. And yes, Harry and Lucius do meet; first time is....um....*thinks hard* gooooooooood. The second time isn't until waaaaaaaay later and not under the best of…*ahem* circumstances. And that's all I am willing to confirm on that subject at the moment. *zips lips shut* 

_**kagomepotter**_: Thank you. You want to know how Lucius is doing? Simply read this chapter and find out a bit. ^^ 

_**DaughterofDeath**_: Hm…not to sure what to say anymore cuz you say the same thing all the time. So….read. 

_**Immortal Memories**_: I'm of the same mindset too. Dumbledore is, in my opinion, far more disturbing than Voldemort. I've had a 4 hour-long discussion about this with my friend Charlie in a Starbucks in a Chapters bookstore while eating Chinese food and sucking back lattés. I find it very disturbing that Dumbledore seems to know everything that happens in Hogwarts just like that. And the way he phrases things, it's much like emotional blackmail; and who wants to deny a 'kindly' old man. *snorts* Yeah, I find it very disturbing. 

_**Strawberry Pavlova**_: Thank you! =) Lucius is the chapter after the next one. 

_**anon**_: Thanks! =) I'm glad you like it. 

_**MustIBeAMalfoy**_: Yes! Sequel! Update here! I managed to squeeze it out before I launch into my massive study week for my exams. 

_**Final Spell**_: Updated. When I next update it'll probably be sometime around April 25th, 26th, somewhere in that week. My last exam is on May 5th and afterwards I'll have a bit more time, and can update more regularly…something to the tune of once every week and a half. 

_**Plastraa**_: I do my bestest to please. ^___^ Happy endings are a-coming, that much I can promise you. lol I see slashy love everywhere too. I was watching Weiß Kreuz again; and there was one part where I gawked and went, "Oh my God! Yohji-kun is feeling up Omi-kun! Right there in the flower shop!" I swear, that's what it looked like to me, but I see slash everywhere. lol Hm, you know, it _does_seem like UST between them now that I've read it over. And I think I've been reading waaaaay too much Snarry fanfiction as well. 

_**Shinigami Liliz Black**_: Updated! I know, two whole weeks. Lucius is fine…but then again, that depends on how you define 'fine'; I don't think I'd be fine if I were him….I'd probably take the Wizarding equivalent of a bowie knife and hunt down Voldemort myself. But I can say there are some serious yet comedic moments later on. Well I find them to be like that. *snickers* And if you're wondering, no, I wasn't as evil to Lucius as I was to Snape. 

_**Quila**_: *blushes* Thank you very much. I have to go over En Las Montañas to fix up the small errors I found, but it's pretty well done, considering I had no beta and I wrote the fic in the wee hours of the morning when I have some decidedly peculiar inspirations. I provided...um…. 'alleviation' of sorts, but that's not until chapter eight… which will have to be posted off FF.net *koffhint!koff* And in regards to your question, Lucius is playing the role of the Death Eater. His rationale behind this and thie issue you raised about him agreeing with Voldemort's ideals is explained, don't worry. 

_**DesdemonaSakura**_: Your instructions were perfectly clear, and I _finally_ got a chance to go look at your drawings. XD XD XD XD XD That Lucius one was just hilarious! 'That was my art hand!'. Hehehe, talk about a bitch slap...oh my God, I couldn't breathe I was laughing so hard; I shouldn't have looked at them all in a row....it's even funnier seeing it drawn out! Or maybe it was all the sugar I had eaten. *shrugs* And as to what they do to bring Voldie down...well...when one wants something bad enough, one comes up with many ways to get what one wants. Lucius is no exception. ^__^ The betaed chapter should be in your inbox later on today. 

_______________________________________________________

_**

Come the Maëlstrom

** _

Chapter Two 

Lucius wasn't all that happy at the moment, and a few things were boding ill in his mind. The first being that he was standing in the old derelict Riddle Manor; the second was that the Dark Lord had kept him waiting here for what must have easily been a hour. At the moment, Lucius was standing in front of a closed set of rotting cherry doors. His throat felt a touch dry and his palms a bit sweaty .This was the first time he ever had anything to hide from the Dark Lord. How Severus did it and manage to stay calm, Lucius had no clue. 

And he was now thankful that he had taken the potion that Severus had given him earlier on. It had tasted like rotten eggs and sulphur but he swallowed it down nonetheless. And then nothing had happened. Lucius had recalled every single event his mind could dredge up from the past three months, only to find that nothing had happened. No tingling sensation, no strange feeling, absolutely nothing at all. But he had yet to see Severus brew a potion incorrectly and, had he not been angry, would have been adamant on it being ingested as soon as possible. This potion had better work. 

So, all in all, Lucius was just a tad nervous when he felt his Mark burn, summoning him to Voldemort's presence. The nervousness morphed rapidly into the beginnings of fear when he'd received word that the Dark Lord would talk to him in private at Riddle Manor. And that was how Lucius came to find himself standing in a collapsing hallway, flexing his palms slightly, and waiting for the word or signal to enter the room. It was bad enough that he had to wait an extra week to be finally summoned, but this additional wait in the hallway was starting to grate against his nerves. 

When the doors finally creaked open slowly, Lucius drew a silent breath and stepped into the room. 

It had obviously been a study at one point. What had once been an extensive library was now a large set of collapsed, mouldering shelves, the remainder of books in various states of crumbling away into dust. The floor was covered with a thick layer of dust, his footsteps stirring it up slightly as he walked further into the room. The large desk, however, was immaculate, despite the termite holes that peppered its surface. A large backed chair was half turned, revealing the Dark Lord's rather flat profile, shadows lending a further gauntness to his face. Lucius came to a halt in front of the desk, not saying anything. He was trying to figure out where the light that made the shadows on the Dark Lord's face was coming when a quiet voice broke the silence. 

"It's been awhile, hasn't it Lucius?" Voldemort said softly. 

"Indeed, my Lord," Lucius said with a bow. "I'm glad to see your health is well." 

"Likewise," Voldemort said, his eyes flickering to Lucius momentarily 

Lucius simply inclined his acknowledgment. "If I may, what is it you want from me, my Lord?" 

"What I want from you," Voldemort said slowly after a very long moment of silence. "Is to know why you failed to return so promptly." 

Lucius didn't say anything for a moment. The tone in the Dark Lord's voice implied that he thought he had needed Lucius here for something very crucial; undoubtedly to tip the scales in the Dark Lord's favour. That certainly meant that Lucius' obvious pronounced absence may have very well cost the Dark Lord an opportunity to win. 

"The situation required that I lay low and impersonate," he curled his lip in disgust. "As a Muggle. That slowed me down quite a bit. Undeniably, Aurors would be watching for me, knowing my magical signature; I couldn't use magic in any form. Returning to your side as quickly as I could was always in my mind, my Lord." 

"And you've forgotten how to Apparate?" Voldemort asked coldly. 

"Indeed not my Lord. That first occurred to me. But once I found out where I was, the risk of splinching was too great. I was over a ocean and at least 1000 miles away. And if I was successful, my abrupt appearance somewhere would have sent some blithering idiot off to the Ministry. A Portkey would have been riskier as it would have immediately alerted the local magical authorities and, if I was caught, they would have turned me over to the fools in our Ministry. As I said my Lord, returning to you was my first thought. Remaining out of Azkaban was my second." 

"Hm," Voldemort rose from his chair. "And did you know that the Potter brat was in the very same house as you?" 

"No my Lord, I did not," Lucius began; when telling a believable lie, it was best to mix it with a smidge of truth. "I was passing through and asked if I could stay the night. I only knew my fellow…compatriots were there when I heard a noise and saw them through a window," he paused for a moment. He needed to press his luck, considering he wasn't sure where he stood with Voldemort at the moment. "I assure you my Lord, had Severus or I been in charge of the mission, it wouldn't have turned into the…debacle that Nott allowed it to be." 

"And that is why I am placing you in charge of the next mission," Voldemort said, regarding Lucius for a moment. "Tell me of Draco, Lucius." 

"Draco is still at Hogwarts under that simpering old fool watchful eye." Lucius said, an icy feeling taking hold in his chest. 

That seemed to please Voldemort, a faint smile coming to the thin lips. "How long has he been there?" 

"For the past half a year, my Lord." Lucius replied. "Four and a half months since Dumbledore prevented the students from leaving." 

"Then he would be privy to certain information?" Voldemort prodded. 

"My Lord?" Lucius asked in a slightly puzzled tone. 

"Such as what Dumbledore may be up to, if there's a guard on the school, what precautions have been taken…" Voldemort gave Lucius a pointed look. 

Lucius nodded his head, masking his hard swallow. "Yes my Lord. I'll let him know immediately." 

"Good. We cannot afford to lose once more. When we strike next time, I will be victorious." 

"Does my Lord have anything else to implement now from his plan?" 

Voldemort shook his head. "We are not going to rush this in any manner. With you overseeing this, there is no way this can fail." 

"Of course my Lord," Lucius bowed. "As you wish." 

"You may leave now," Voldemort said. 

Lucius bowed once more and turned to leave, making his way to the door, when it suddenly slammed shut. He paused for a moment, taking a breath before he turned around. 

"Is there anything else I can do for my Lord?" 

Voldemort was out of his chair, wand drawn and pointed at Lucius. 

"I am sorely vexed that it took so long to find you. I had no desire to contaminate myself with the thoughts of some filthy Muggle," Voldemort spat. "Especially since you didn't attempt to contact me in some way." 

"My Lord-" Lucius began. 

"Shut up." Voldemort ordered. "You always have a way out of a situation. You always have the perfect thing to say. You are very slippery, Lucius Malfoy." 

Lucius didn't balk or back down as Voldemort started walking closer to him. He didn't say anything else, focusing on keeping the mask of humility on his face. 

"And all those answers seemed too…convenient, too well-practiced," Voldemort said quietly, coming to a stop, his wand a few inches away from Lucius' chest. "And since I do still need you in one coherent piece, I shall have to be careful about doing this." 

A bad feeling suddenly enveloped Lucius as Voldemort's red eyes bored into his grey ones. It was a moment later that Lucius felt it, a presence in his consciousness, pulling forth the vague, misleading memories for closer inspection. He fought down the urge to push Voldemort out, but a small trickle of resistance made its way through. Voldemort's eyes narrowed, his fingers tightening on the wand. 

"Something to hide Lucius?" he spat. 

Lucius didn't say anything, knowing full well what was coming now. He should have known better than to hope he would get off easy. 

_______________________________________________________

A few things struck Lucius as he Apparated into the front foyer of his manor. One was that he was still lucky to still be standing coherent and in full possession of his mental capacities. Two, was that the wards on his home felt a bit different; maybe it was just his weary state of mind, but the magic felt a bit different as it slid across his skin to allow him in. Three was that Narcissa was pacing rather feverishly in front of the staircase, something clutched in her hands, and looking rather wrinkled and worn for the wear. Lucius sagged slightly against a wall before he righted himself. Maybe if he slipped into the drawing room and went to his bedroom from there Narcissa wouldn't- 

"Lucius!" Narcissa just about shrieked when she pivoted on her feet and saw him standing in the foyer. 

Lucius closed his eyes, rubbing his temple slightly as Narcissa's voice throbbed in his head like a drum hit far too hard. What, in the name of Salazar himself, could the harpy in front of him want now? It certainly couldn't be more money; she was always sweet, cloying and clingy when she wanted that. He simply gave her a bored and slightly impatient look as she stormed over to him. 

"Look at this!" she demanded, sticking the paper so close to his face that the moving figures were blurred. 

It didn't help that the paper was in so close and that she was waving it around. Lucius' hand shot up and gripped her wrist, still the motion. "I certainly can't see it if you insist on waving in front of my face so." 

And with that he plucked it from her grasp with his other hand, eyes scanning over the headline of, '_**Ministry to perform surprise Inspections - Fudge determined to root out He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's supporters**_'. Lucius could already feel the beginnings of a headache brewing on top of the mental exhaustion he was feeling at the moment. He was more than certain that the Malfoy Manor would be one of the first places inspected, if not _the_ very first. 

"And this came," Narcissa said holding out a small sealed letter. 

Lucius opened it to find a single word written in Severus neat, slanted, albeit spidery, scrawl: '_Tomorrow_'. 

"Did these come together?" he asked sharply, looking up at Narcissa who was wringing her hands unconsciously while frowning. "Did they?!" he demanded harshly when Narcissa didn't seem to hear him. 

Narcissa looked at him, startled for a moment. "The letter came attached to the paper," she said. "What are we going to do?!" she looked more than a bit worried now; she managed to make herself fully agitated. 

Lucius looked at her in disbelief. Narcissa barely lifted a finger to do much of anything, save organizing a ball, ordering house elves around, having her other socialite friends over to gossip over tea or spend money. But he shouldn't have been all that surprised; a creature's self-preservations instincts always kicked in when it was threatened; Salazar forbid that Narcissa be denied of her decadent lifestyle. Or perhaps she had stopped lazing about with his impromptu 3 month disappearance and actually done something. But he found that to be highly doubtful. HIs lawyer was more than likely responsible; he certainly paid the man well enough to insure a more than healthy interest in a threat to his job. 

"You," Lucius said pointedly. "Are going to do nothing as you always end up doing bar sitting around and looking pretty," he tried his best to not sneer. "I am going to deal with this." 

He started up the stairs, ignoring Narcissa and her sound of affronted shock. He didn't know _why_ Narcissa felt the need to get involved now. There had been many situations similar to this one, right in front of her face and she hadn't batted an eyelash. Pausing for a moment in front of his study door, he regarded the article before walking in and locking the door behind him. It seemed as if Fudge had a few laws passed overnight to start snooping in the homes of Wizarding people. 

He seated himself at his study desk wearily, rubbing his temples as he tossed the paper on the top, leaning back in the chair. The headaches never seemed to end. And now he had a few letters to write, the first one being to Draco, the second one being to Snape. He pulled out a quill and parchment, dipping the nib into the ink pot before he started writing. 

'_Draco, _

You would do well to keep up on things, especially as Snape tells me you did terribly on your last Potions test. I am expecting results from you, soon hopefully, once this messy war is done and over with. 

Father' 

Lucius looked it over a few times and deemed nothing wrong with it. Draco was always doing terribly in Potions; coming in second was not fitting for a Malfoy, Lucius didn't care if it was just an 'Outstanding'; if that Granger girl could be getting 'Exceeds Expectations' then Draco would simply have to try harder. He rolled up that letter and got started on the second one. 

'_Severus, _

Dinner. 6:00 p.m. 

Lucius' 

He frowned and erased what he wrote. It looked too much like the notes he wrote to his lovers. Lucius spent a good 45 minutes trying to write a letter to Severus that wouldn't be suspicious if it was intercepted, but obvious to Severus. Finally, he ended up scrawling out something in exasperation. 

'_Severus, _

As per your instructions, I followed the procedure and ended up with peculiar result. A discussion of what went wrong is in order I believe. 

Dinner at 6:00 p.m. is the only time I have available for the next two days. RSVP is you wish to reschedule. 

Lucius' 

Lucius rubbed the bridge of his nose as he looked it over and then put it down. It would have to do. And he could really use a drink at the moment. He rose and walked over to the small bar he had by the window and poured himself a drink. He paused before picking it up, whistling for the owl and summoning the letters to him. He sealed them quickly and then tied them to the owl's leg, gave explicit instructions and sent it off before closing the window, picking up his drink and making his way back to the chair. He still had a letter to write to Borgin & Burkes; quite possibly a Floo call would be in order as well. He knew the shopkeeper wanted to get his grubby little hands on some of the things in the Malfoy Manor. And now was the man's chance; if he cared to come up here at - Lucius glanced at the clock - almost 1 in the morning. He gave a dry snort, taking a sip of his rye. 

"No rest at all for the wicked," he murmured, contemplating the amber liquid in the tumbler. "None at all." 

_______________________________________________________


	3. Chapter 3

_**DaughterofDeath**_: Gotcha. Read. 

_**SiLvErFaTeD**_: Um…thanks. ^.^ 

_**Bookworm**_: lol Sometimes I think the same thing to myself when I review fics. But I do appreciate you commenting on what you liked in Chapter 2. 

_**Shinigami Liliz Black**_: Erm…can't say anything mustn't give away plot! In regards to your review for _Candid_, feel free to draw one of Harry's sketches if you want. ^.^ 

_**Saavik13**_: It came out all by itself. When I edited the chapter that was the one thing that stayed; it was all too fitting. ^.^ In regards to _Candid_, I was thinking about that, but I have nothing for those two fics at the moment, so...when I get some inspiration, I'll post. In the meantime....*grabs Lucius and runs* 

_**MustIBeAMalfoy**_: Wow, only my best bud calls me 'chica'. Had to stare at the screen for a second there. I know it ain't her because she has absolutely no inclination to read the Harry Potter books whatsoever. Though I tell her it'll help explain the movies, when they have to take out certain bits. Anyhow, update is here, and there should be one on the 27th or 28th of next week. Some time around then. 

_**Professor Potter-Malfoy**_: Thanks! *goes red* Yeah, reality does bite. You know, I'm hoping it lives up to it too. lol Update here! And the next update is in little less than a week. Go me! Or rather, thank God my last two exams are English and East Asian history - aka stuff I know like the back of my hand. 

_**

Come the Maëlstrom

** _

Chapter Three 

Harry studied the squared surface of the chessboard, scratching his chin slightly. Ron was absently stroking the rook with his index finger while Hermione was on the couch, reading over a long piece of parchment.They wee in Harry's room relaxing a bit...though this game of wizard's chess with Ron seemed to be dragging on for awhile now. 

"Are you going to move any time soon?" Ron demanded impatiently a few minutes later. 

"Hrm," Harry grunted as he prodded his knight along the board. "Yeah, I moved. Your turn." 

Ron's eyes quickly scanned the board before he slid out a pawn. "You seem preoccupied." 

"Just a bit," Harry admitted looking at the board. "I don't think I can move." 

What?" Ron looked at the board and rolled his eyes. "Yes you can. All you have to do is move this piece here and that over there like that…" 

Harry watched as Ron moved his pieces around, still playing his own. He stopped Ron after a few minutes "You don't have to play for me Ron." 

"But it's just painful watching you play," Ron whined. "And you take so long to make one move." 

"Just let Harry play, Ron." Hermione said absently from the couch. 

"Easy for you to say 'Mione. You're reading something; you don't have to watch it." Ron grumbled as he slouched into his seat. 

"Oh!" Harry exclaimed after a moment. "Checkmate!" he moved his pawn one square away from claiming the king. 

"Huh?" Ron sat back up and looked at the board, moving his king out of the path. 

"Checkmate, again." Harry said, sliding his bishop down the diagonal path open to it. 

"Blimey!" Ron gawked at the board. "But…How…" 

"That's why you're not supposed to help Ron." Hermione murmured, still not looking up. 

"I'll be damned," Ron muttered, scratching his head as he regarded the board. 

Harry grinned as he looked at Ron who was clearly trying to figure out how exactly he had set himself up for such an avoidable loss. 

"I'm kinda of bored," he said, looking between Ron and Hermione. "Want to go for a walk?" 

"You actually want to leave?" Hermione regarded him for a moment. 

"Very funny," Harry said dryly. "And yes I do." 

"Let's go to the kitchens," Ron said, rising from his seat. "I'm hungry." 

"You always seem to be hungry lately Ron," Hermione said with a roll of her eyes as she rose from the couch. 

"It does take some energy to heal up, 'Mione." Ron proclaimed easily with a grin. 

Harry chuckled and rose, starting for the door. "I'm kind of hungry too." 

"Kitchens it is," Ron said smugly as the Bucephalus swung aside to let them through. 

"What were you reading back there?" Harry asked Hermione as they settled into an easy walk. 

"The last letter I got from Viktor." She said as she folded said letter and slipped it into her pocket. 

"Oh, from Krum," Ron said in a mocking voice. 

Hermione glared at Ron before she looked back at Harry. "I haven't heard from him in awhile. I hope he's all right." 

Harry glanced at Ron who was doing a slightly apish impression of the Bulgarian Seeker and mouthing the words, 'I am Krum'. Harry managed to turn his chuckle into a slight cough, earning a puzzled expression from Hermione. He didn't think Ron's impression was that funny; what amused him more was that Ron was obviously jealous and Hermione didn't even notice it. For once something slipped right past her. 

"Are you sure you're fine Harry?" she asked curiously. 

He nodded his head. "Yeah, and I'm sure Viktor's fine. So, did anything interesting happen when I was gone?" 

"Anything interesting?" Ron mused, as if trying to figure out where to start. "'Mione hexed Malfoy real good in the Great Hall in front of _everybody_." 

"You?" Harry looked at her in amazement. "You hexed Malfoy in front of everybody." 

"Well, yes," Hermione began in a small voice. "I was the only one close enough to him to perform such a complex hex. That and I was-" 

"Insulting him with every insult known to man!" Ron said enthusiastically. "You should have seen her Harry! She was amazing!" 

"How complex was it?" Harry asked, looking at her. 

Ron sniggered. "He looked like a five headed fluffy duck by the time 'Mione was done with him. McGonagall had to take her wand away to get her to stop!" 

"What could he have said to make you that mad?" Harry asked as he looked back at the brown haired witch. 

Hermione didn't say anything for a moment. "He wouldn't stop rubbing it in that you'd probably gotten yourself blown up or killed and that we were all better off without you." 

"And," Ron interjected. "When she ignored him, he then said, 'Just like Potter to still have everyone's attention, even when he's dead and gone. Hope You-Know-Who did him in slowly'." 

Both of Harry's eyebrows flew up. "I'm surprised you didn't hex him Ron." 

"Yeah well, I could only barely see out of one eye at the time. I was in no condition to fight. And I was kinda trying to keep 'Mione calm. But after he said that, I would have hexed him if I could have." 

Harry shook his head. "I would have liked to see Malfoy like that," 

"Lucky for you, Colin had his camera with him that day in the hall," Ron dug into his pocket and pulled out a photo. 

Harry took in Ron's darkly amused smirk and Hermione's cool but self-satisfied face. He looked down at the picture to be faced with a weakly flapping, feathery yellow Malfoy whose shoulders were filled with other heads and altogether looked oddly disproportionate to his rounded body. When a semi-suppressed snicker made its way out, Malfoy opened his mouth and made a thoroughly duck-like sound. Harry nearly dropped the picture as he doubled over, seized with fresh laughter. 

"Yeah, Colin developed it so it could talk as well. Not that you'd understand anything the little blighter is saying," 

The picture gave a very indignant honk that caused the three of them to burst out laughing. Ron took the picture back from Harry and slipped it into his pocket. 

"Everyone took to calling Malfoy 'Duckie' for two week." Hermione said. "He was even more steamed to find out that I started that." 

Harry had to lean against a wall for support as he laughed with tears coming from his eyes. It didn't help that he could still hear the faint sounds of protest coming from the picture in Ron's back pocket. After a few minutes he wiped his eyes dry and started walking again, holding his aching stomach and breaking out into random snickers. 

"So," he began a bit breathlessly. "Anything else? Though I doubt anything could possibly top that." 

"No, nothing-" Hermione began. 

"Oh yes, something else!" Ron said quickly, cutting off Hermione. 

"No!" she snapped. 

"Yes!" he replied in just as testy a tone. 

"What on Earth are you two arguing about now?" Harry looked between them in puzzlement. 

Not quite hearing him, Hermione and Ron continued their rather one sided bickering before they fell silent, glaring at one another as they came to a halt in front of the painting of fruit. Hermione tickled the pear briskly and the portrait swung open a few seconds later. When they'd settled down at a table with glasses of milk and a few slices of some cake, Hermione and Ron resumed their glaring. 

Finally, Hermione threw her hands up. "You're going to tell him anyway. I may was well make sure he gets the whole story." 

Harry paused at Hermione's obviously displeased words. "What's she talking about Ron?" 

"The Snape Incident." Ron replied quietly. 

"Um, all right," Harry began. "What about this, 'Snape Incident'?" 

Ron shifted in his seat, getting comfortable. "Well, this one morning, we were heading down to breakfast and we were kinda of behind-" 

"Who's 'we', Ron?" Harry asked. 

"Oh, 'Mione and me," he said. "Anyways, we were a bit behind but we figured we wouldn't be that late. So we were just approaching the flight of stairs down to the front to go to the Great Hall for breakfast when the front door creaks open. And there's Snape who practically falls right in. He looked horrible and that's saying a lot for Snape." 

Hermione frowned. "Ron really, he'd probably just come back from a meeting with Voldemort and," she sighed, waiting for Ron to finish his cringing. "And had no other choice but to come in through the front doors. The quickest way to the dungeons is through the front doors." 

"Or the infirmary in his case," Ron added before he turned his attention back to his story. "But really, everyone came to see and McGonagall told us all to get back to our dorms and-" 

"And rightly so!" Hermione flared. "You shouldn't have been there gawking!" 

"Me?!" Ron gaped at her. "You were there gawking too 'Mione!" 

"I did no such thing." Hermione said primly. "I was trying to get you to leave but you wanted to stay and watch." 

Ron groaned and rolled his eyes. "Listen to yourself 'Mione! Snape, of all people! This is evil Snape who pried Harry's mind open for You-Know-Who and-" 

"You don't know the first thing about Occlumency; how can you even say that?" Hermione countered. 

"Why are you defending Snape of all people?!" Ron snapped in a thoroughly vexed voice. 

Harry, who had been eating his cake and watching Ron and Hermione argue as if it was a spectator sport, had to admit Ron had a point. Hermione did seem to be thoroughly defending Snape. 

"Do I need to say it?" Hermione asked in a weary voice. "Honestly Ron, how long do you think you'd last in front of Voldemort and-" she waited for Ron's whimpering to cease. "And I mean actually have lasted? Professor Snape has been doing this for a little over 20 years now and that does merit some respect." 

"And have you forgotten that he completely despises Gryffindors?" Ron said. "I mean…he…" 

"Ron, I know he doesn't like Gryffindors all that much," Hermione said heavily. But I'm not one to confuse things. What Professor Snape has done, he has done for his own reasons. His personality has nothing to do with that. I can still respect his actions and despise him as individual. Besides, I think…what is it now you two?" 

Harry hadn't quite heard what Hermione said; he was far too busy glaring at the figure that seemed to materialize out of nowhere. Snape was standing right behind Hermione, arms crossed as if he was waiting for her to turn around and finally realize he was there. It wasn't so much that it was Snape just standing there; if that was the case, Harry just might have said something that cost Gryffindor more points. No, it was the expression on Snape's face that chilled his blood. He wasn't even sure of how to describe it, but he wasn't sure he wanted to at all. True he loathed the man, but even he knew when it was best to simply remain silent; this was one of those times 

"Well, what is it?" Hermione demanded testily, looking between the two of them. 

"Behind you," Harry managed in an even voice. Ron could only manage to nod his head in agreement 

Hermione turned around, and found herself facing Snape. She gave a squeak of surprise, scooting away from him as far as she could on her seat. Snape's lip curled into a peculiarly mordant smirk as he regarded the three of them before his eyes rested on Hermione. 

"Really Miss Granger, do tell. I'm rather curious to hear what presumptuous nonsense you'll spill forth." He said in a dangerously low voice. 

Hermione chose to remain silent, her face red with embarrassment. Ron's face was somewhat pale. Harry was sure his own was the same colour as well, only from the steady build-up of anger that managed to flood him. 

"What do you want, _Sir_?" he spat out at Snape, eyes narrowing slightly. 

Snape swung his gaze to Harry, his own eyes narrowing in dislike as well. "The Headmaster wishes to speak to you." 

"Fine. Now, if you don't mind _Sir_, get lost." Harry said curtly, turning back to his cake. He could already see the stunned expressions on Hermione and Ron's faces. If they thought this was bad, they'd consider this civil to the previous argument he and Snape had. 

"Now, you impertinent, ungrateful brat," Snape snarled. "And ten points from Gryffindor for your insolent cheek." 

Harry glared up at Snape. "I'll be right back you guys," Harry said, getting up from his seat. 

Hermione and Ron nodded their heads silently. Harry gave Snape one final nasty look before walking past him and out of the kitchen. He didn't feel much like talking with Dumbledore at the moment; the thought of suffering a chat alone with Dumbledore left a rather sour feeling in his stomach. He knew he had to get it over with sooner or later, and he knew sooner was better despite not wanting to do it in the slightest. 

"Where do you think you're going?" 

Harry paused at the sound of Snape's voice echoing down the hallway. "Thankfully, away from you and unfortunately to see Dumbledore. I had thought that much would be obvious to you." He said and he started to walk again. 

"Dumbledore's not in his office." 

Harry ground his teeth at the smug tone in Snape's voice. "Then where is he?" 

"Just shut your annoying mouth and follow me," Snape said curtly. "You seem to have a nasty habit of plaguing me anyhow." He muttered. 

Harry managed to bite his tongue as he walked after Snape, making their way down hallways and flights of stairs to the dungeons. He simply scratched his head a bit as they made their way downwards. Why would Dumbledore choose to meet him here in the dungeons? 

"Ice Mice," Snape said as they came to a momentary stop in front of a door. "He's waiting inside," 

"Gee, where else would he be?" Harry said, just loud enough for Snape to hear as he slipped by him through the open door. 

A comfortable sitting room greeted him, Dumbledore sitting in one of the squashy chintz chairs he favoured, as well as a loveseat. Of which was the only other piece of furniture in the room. Harry sat down on the edge gingerly, feeling a bit nervous. The feeling only got worse when Dumbledore urged Snape to take the space next to Harry on the couch. 

"Hello Harry," Dumbledore said pleasantly. "How are you dong?" 

"Fine Sir," Harry said in a polite voice. 

He glanced over at Snape who was wearing a definite scowl on his face. Harry didn't blame him all that much. He felt like wearing the same expression on his own face as well right now. Snape cleared his throat after a moment. 

"Is there a reason why you wanted us _both_ here?" 

Harry flashed Snape a look upon hearing that. It seemed that Snape neglected to mention something to him. 

"There is," Dumbledore smiled. 

"And it would be…" Harry asked after a few minutes, trailing off. 

"Quite simple. I want you both to get along." 

Harry snorted. "I stay out of his way, he doesn't have to see me or find a reason to insult me, and I don't have to see him. That's good enough for me." 

"For once a Potter uses intelligence," Snape said sarcastically. 

"Thanks," Harry shot back in the same tone. 

"This is the kind of thing that Voldemort can capitalize on," Dumbledore said sadly. "You barely tolerate one another at the moment; what would you happen if you have to trust one another?" 

"Tell me Albus," Snape sneered. "How would you have Potter and build up trust? Have a little heart-to-heart chat over tea?" 

Harry couldn't stop the snicker that escaped, but he schooled his expression into a much unhappier one when both Snape and Dumbledore gave him looks. 

Dumbledore gave Snape a thoroughly disapproving look. "If you wish to start that way, then do so. But I am giving you both a week to come up with something yourselves and see it started." 

"Or?" Harry asked apprehensively. 

"Why, I'll simply give you boys a push in the direction," Dumbledore said rising from his chair with a smile. "I'll leave you to get started." 

Harry waited until Dumbledore was gone before he rose and rubbed his temples. "I didn't quite want to believe it, but he's lost it." He muttered softly to himself. 

Snape simply regarded Harry for a moment before rising and starting leave. Harry watched him for a moment before he hurried after Snape, catching up with him in the hallway. 

"Professor!" he called. 

"What?" Snape asked testily. 

"I doubt the Headmaster will let up," Harry began. "So…maybe tea is the answer." 

Snape didn't do anything for a moment, save turning around slightly and regarding him suspiciously. Harry sighed and shrugged. 

"Unless you want to run the risk of Dumbledore locking us in a room together until we get along. I know I _don't_ want that." 

Snape scowled and stalked away, his robes billowing behind him. Harry didn't say anything as he headed back for the kitchens. Some more cake and maybe a cup of hot chocolate seemed to be in a good idea right about. 

_______________________________________________________


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I know this chapter is horribly late! My computer is messed up - as in freezing whenever it starts up - so I have to use my friend's comp [Jeffy's been very good about me stealing his computer for a few days at a time] or school lab comps when I am on campus. Like right now. ^.^ For now, I'm just gonna be posting it here on FanFiction.net when I can. I plan on posting on my website when I get to chapter 8, and will post all the other chapters at there at the same time too. My friend should be attempting to fix my comp around May 17th, 18th, somewhere in that week. Here's hoping he can fix it. *crosses fingers* 

Decided to do a little background research into landscaped gardens and different species of flowers, just in case I have to mention the gardens in greater detail later on in the fic. I quite literally choked on my bite of doughnut when I came across a flower called celosia, which is commonly known as cockscomb. Needless to say the first image that popped into my mind had nothing to do with the comb on a rooster. Hm...come to think of it, there was no comb at all with the image that popped into my head......my mind is so in the gutter; in the very bottom of the gutter, hahaha. Oh well, just replies and then read. 

_**Lyla Malfoy**_: Updated! Harry/Lucius action is coming I can guarantee you that. I'll even tell you how many chapters are left until that happens. After this one…four. Don't quote me on that though…because I get confused and don't know whether to count the chapter that it's in or not. ^.^;; 

_**SiLvErFaTeD**_: More developments come forth. Really working on plot for this one. And I mean really. 

_**MustIBeAMalfoy**_: Nope, I don't mind at all. I usually affix - chan or -kun to my friends names so, it's all good. Yeah, I know, poor Hermione…*shakes head* and poor Harry and poor Snape. 

_**innocent2004**_: Glad you like it. Don't mean to be mean but, you're gonna have to wait and find out. 

_**Immortal Memories**_: Perhaps…*strokes chin* Nope. No, no Severus pursuing Harry in this fic. No Snarry in this fic. Sorry to burst you bubble…if you had a bubble. 

_**Bookworm**_: Yes, I know. And some decidedly more peculiar things will happen between them, I can tell you that much. Haha, confess to Snape about his affair with Lucius over Earl Grey tea…that's a rather amusing mental image. I know, even I'm getting kinda anxious and I'm writing the fic. I'm just on the cusp [paper copy]…and then……*makes rolling motions with hands* 

_**Final Spell**_: Lucius and Harry get together. I'm giving you the same number I gave Lyla Malfoy: four. 

_**Lusiki-Thanatos**_: Thank you! *goes red* I'll do my best to get the chapters done and posted…just need my comp back! I miss talking to people on MSN every night. 

_**Plastraa**_: I completely agree! Snogging commences!! lol I wish….*sigh* Don't worry; no Snarry here. Just Harry/Lucius goodness. I should hope you won't bean me with Lucius' pimp cane unless absolutely necessary. I need all the brain cells I can get. I'm in university! I gotta pull the wool over their eyes _somehow_! So I can write more for this fic! lol Hm…speaking of canes, I found an awesome dragon headed one that's just plain wicked….damn I need money…I want my own pimp cane, dang it! lol 

_______________________________________________________ 

_**Come the Maëlstrom** _

Chapter Four 

This had to be, by far, the worst week Lucius had suffered in his life. The title of '_The week from Hell_' seemed like a very close approximation for it. His manor had been subjected to three surprise visits, not just the one Severus had warned him about. And all the searches had produced was nothing. Mr. Borgin from Borgin & Burkes had been thorough and left no evidence behind. And while his home had been picked apart, the Dark Lord had summoned him to find out if anything new had happened at Hogwarts. Having heard nothing from Draco yet, Lucius had been forced to tell the Dark Lord he needed a bit more time to be sure of his observations and what his son was saying; one couldn't be too careful when crafting a plan like this. Thankfully, the Dark Lord had bought that, and it gave Lucius a bit more extra time. And when he'd come back home, he'd found the Ministry officials leaving with rather smug expressions on their faces. It hadn't taken him long to discover the first of many magical eavesdropping devices. 

Needless to say, it was nothing short of a miracle that Lucius had anything left that could be remotely called a nerve. 

Now he found himself sitting behind his study desk, absently listening to Narcissa bemoan the fact that their good name was being dragged through the mud by the insipid Ministry fools. Narcissa's voice had a very soporific effect today and he found his mind wandering from her words in order to remain awake. His eyes focused on some point just past her so it appeared that he was watching her. His mind however was far away from his study. It wandered back to sun warmed Spanish hills with a gentle breeze, covered in soft fragrant grass and Harry's warm laughter as they lay beside one another. Harry had started playing with Lucius' hand out of boredom, tracing the network of tendons and muscles down to the fingertips, commenting on the wonderful way it felt and how he liked the feel of the slight calluses against his skin when they- 

"Are you even listening to me Lucius?" 

Lucius looked up blandly at Narcissa. Oh yes; his wife was prattling on. "I've yet to hear anything useful in your mindless babble." 

"Mindless babble?" Narcissa fumed. "Simply because I worry about our good social standing does not mean…" 

Lucius automatically tuned her voice out once more. He normally didn't let Narcissa into his study, as it was his haven from her. But she'd asked to speak to him earlier on. And even he wasn't sure why he let her in. That pathetically wretched tone she used didn't help much. Now it was nigh on three hours and she was obviously not done yet. His mind had just drifted back to Harry when his eyes wandered to the clock. It was almost 6; blast. 

"Really," he said abruptly cutting Narcissa off. "Is there a particular reason why you choose to plague me this afternoon?" 

Narcissa looked at him for a moment with a frown. "Did you take care of…everything?" 

"I am far from incompetent." Lucius replied, his eyes narrowing slightly. 

How foolish was this woman? Those Ministry fools had insisted he and Narcissa be absent in order for them to 'perform their search more efficiently and quickly'. Salazar knew how many more listening devices were still left after his initial purge of the house. That one alone had yielded almost a hundred of the small, shrunken things. 

"But Lucius-" Narcissa began. 

"I believe that is enough of that," he said briskly. "I have made dinner plans, so I suggest you keep yourself occupied and out of my way. Out of the manor would be better." 

Narcissa's lips thinned as her face tightened slightly. "In this house?" 

"That's why I asked you to keep yourself occupied or to leave." Lucius said in a bored voice as he rose from his chair, fixing the cuffs of his robes. 

"And may I enquire as to who it is?" 

Lucius gave Narcissa an amused look; so she wanted to size up her competition. Too bad, she would never lay eyes on her true competition. Tonight would work twofold for him. He just had to trust that Harry had faith in him. 

"Quite frankly, it doesn't concern you," he began. "And now, I will kindly ask you to get remove yourself from my study. You tire me out and not in a remotely good way." 

"You should find it to be no small wonder why our marriage is the way it is." 

"Indeed. There are many reasons. I think the main one is the fact that you're nothing more than a vapid, empty-headed woman who only schemes to keep the Malfoy name and all that goes with it." 

Narcissa wasn't thrilled by that. "At least I'm not as half as vain as you are." She retorted in a rather childish manner. 

"Ah, my dear wife," Lucius said mockingly. "Narcissistic I may be but I am far from ignorant. You seem to confuse to two, and really shouldn't." 

"And you seem to think me a fool who will be easily ousted from my current position." Narcissa sneered. 

Lucius gave a derisive chuckle. "And you seem to think far too highly of yourself. If I wished it, I could be rid of you this very moment." 

"As do you, Lucius." Narcissa replied. "And you may find it difficult to be rid of me." 

"That I do seriously doubt," Lucius stated. "My opinion of myself is well-founded. Yours is nothing more than foolish pretensions." 

"Hmph," Narcissa spun on her heel and strode to the door. "It is no small wonder why my bed remains gratefully empty of your presence." She spat out in a seething voice. 

"Because Nature thankfully saw fit to not endow you with certain attributes; you would be a rather," Lucius paused for a moment, looking at her. "Grotesque man." 

The study door closed with a loud slam and Lucius found the corners of his lips curling up into an amused smile. He had forgotten just how easy it was to bait Narcissa. And just how much fun it could be to torment her. At least he would be able to have a small bit of fun in future. 

_______________________________________________________

The garden was nice at this time of the year. It wasn't too hot or cold, and there was a pleasant breeze passing through. Lucius liked his garden. He may be a complicated man, but the simplicities of the garden was aesthetically pleasing to the eyes and soothing to the mind. It was the perfect spot for this. The house elves had set up a dining pavilion for two alone in a semi-secluded section of the garden, where a few windows from the house would be visible from either side of the small table. He quickly cast a Silencing spell around the tent; it wouldn't do for Narcissa to be lurking around the hedges and hear every word uttered. There, perfect. 

This was the only suitable spot since Lucius had gone over the gardens with a painstaking thoroughness and removed every single hidden and shrunken listening device planted there. He sat on a bench close to the pavilion as he waited for Severus to arrive. The dark man had said he would be here at 6 promptly. And Severus had yet to be late for an appointment. 

"So beautiful…" Lucius murmured softly to himself as he regarded the camellia flowers. 

"What?" 

Lucius' eyes flickered to the source of the question to find himself looking at Severus, who stood there with his customary scowl. Lucius wasn't sure if the man knew any other expression. 

"How good of you to come," Lucius said easily, rising from his seat as he gestured to the pavilion. "Shall we?" 

Severus didn't say anything as they made their way to the table and sat down. Lucius glanced at the windows for a moment; there was no Narcissa spying yet. No matter. He'd just have to pay attention to see her skulking around the glass. Turning his attention back to Severus, he took in the scowl with a shrewd guess as the start of their dinner appeared before them. He only wore this particular scowl after sharing the company of one person. 

"And what has Potter done to vex you now?" he asked quietly, pouring the wine into the fluted glasses. 

"What makes you think it was Potter?" Severus snapped, glaring at Lucius momentarily. 

"No one else makes you scowl so," Lucius replied evenly. "Not even that senile old fool you work for." 

Severus didn't say anything for a moment. "That's none of your business." He replied curtly and picked up his fork to start on the salad. 

"Au contraire," Lucius said as he shifted to make himself more comfortable. "Something must be going on." 

"You watch my back and I watch yours?" Severus sneered. 

"In a manner of speaking," Lucius paused for a moment, taking a sip of his wine. "I do have information that could be considered very valuable and useful, considering your place in the order of things." 

Lucius turned his attention to his own salad now as Severus remained silent, working away at his own. The momentary flash in Severus' dark eyes had been so rapid and fleeting that Lucius wasn't too sure what to make of it. Nothing more was said for a while as they finished off their salads and the empty bowls vanished away to make room for the main course. 

"I didn't come here to suffer a veiled interrogation," Severus said after eating a good bit of his chicken. "You apparently wanted to…discuss something with me." 

"Yes. The rather curious results of that potion you gave me." 

Severus regarded Lucius for a moment. "You can't tell me that it didn't work the way it was supposed to." 

"No, I can't tell you," Lucius began. "Since you never told me what to expect in the first place." 

A look of sheer incredulity planted itself firmly on Severus' face. "Do you mean to tell me," he said after a few awkward moments. "That you've never taken a mind-alternant before?" 

"And just what exactly are you implying?" Lucius said in a frosty voice; he knew full well what Severus wasn't saying, or calling him to his face. 

"Why, nothing," Severus said innocently. "I just find it very surprising that you, of all wizards, haven't taken one." 

"I may be corrupted and debauched," Lucius said dryly. "But I prefer to keep my wits intact and not subject them to…that." 

"As you say," Severus gave a snort that said he clearly thought otherwise. "But you should have felt something." 

"Enlighten me." Lucius didn't like this situation and it was less and less by the moment. 

Severus mused for a moment. "You may have felt some light-headedness." 

"No." 

"No? A tingling sensation?" 

"No." 

"A peculiar fascination with mundane, everyday objects? Or body parts?" 

"No." 

"An urge to suddenly philosophize about life and its intricacies in general." 

"No." 

"A strange sense of elation or euphoria?" 

"No." 

"An inexplicable urge to laugh or giggle rather hysterically at the slightest thing?" 

"Enough." Lucius ground out. 

"What?" Severus asked with a slightly smug look on his face. "The potion I gave you is essentially a mind-alternant and it could produce any one of those side effects." 

"Since you are insistent on this subject," Lucius said in a very unamused tone. "None of the results typical of a mind-alternant happened to me. That goes for effects as well." 

"Then you'll have to tell me exactly what happened," Severus said as he started stroking his chin with his forefinger, a thoughtful expression on his face. "Tell me word for word what happened when you ingested it." 

"I drank it. I went down my throat to my stomach." Lucius said. "That was it." 

"That was it?" Severus echoed. 

"I drank it and nothing happened. I may have swallowed water or wine instead, for all the good that did. Anything else would have tasted better too." 

"You just drank it and nothing occurred?" 

"Yes, I drank it and nothing happened." Lucius repeated in an irritated voice. "How many times and ways do you wish for me to phrase it?" 

"Hm, how odd," Severus murmured, losing himself in thought for a few moments. "And what happened when you were summoned by the Dark Lord?" 

"He decided to pry in my mind," Lucius said. "And he certainly wasn't happy by the end of it all." 

"Hm…" 

Lucius found himself enshrouded in silence once more as Severus became lost in his thoughts with his brow furrowed and mouth drawn in tightly. With a sigh, he turned his attention back to his dinner. Severus could be entirely unresponsive when he became, what Lucius liked to call, the analytical introvert. 

"Well, it sounds as if it worked," Severus declared after a few moments. "But I'm finding it to be rather curious that you experienced nothing after ingesting the potion. The answer more than likely lies in your physiology." 

Lucius managed to stifle his groan. Severus had continued studying after Hogwarts for five years at Avalon Academia, and what had he specialized in - potions and their effects on Wizard physiology and magic. Severus was essentially a bloody Healer that made you drink stuff. He really didn't want to be subjected to a long boring lecture on this subject. 

"If you can keep this simple for some who don't know the jargon…" Lucius looked at Severus. 

"Your background…" Severus said simply. 

Lucius arched an eyebrow; who was Severus to order him like that? Thankfully for Severus, Lucius wanted an answer as to why the potion didn't quite work as it was supposed to. 

"I think it's rather obvious don't you? Pureblood all the way back to the very beginnings of the Malfoy family; but since I know what you really mean, I had a great-great-great grandmother who was Veela." 

Severus nodded his head, still lost in thought. "That may have something to do with it. Veela traits tend to stay active through generations. This problem can occur in people with traits passed down through the parents. " 

"Mother," Lucius corrected easily. 

"Only the mother side…" Severus was becoming more and more engrossed in puzzling this out. "Quite interesting." 

"Need I remind you," Lucius said. "That I am not your little experiment." 

"Hm," Severus' eyes flickered to him with a highly disagreeing look. "Of course I'll do some research and let you know. I may have to brew another custom batch for you to ensure that the full effects of the potion are felt." 

"Let me guess, no casting of complex spells once ingested?" Lucius asked dryly. 

"With the batch I'll have to brew you that would be advisable." Severus turned back to his chicken and finished off the last few bites. 

Lucius inclined his head finishing off the last of the chicken and small potatoes as he glanced at the house. He could barely make out Narcissa's form by a curtain, peering out into the garden in their direction. If Narcissa found out Harry was his new lover, she'd more than likely stop at nothing and use everything in her power to get rid of him once she found out. Or she just might die of shock. But either way Harry wouldn't be pleased with suffering a messy little affair. He slid his hand across the table, resting it on top of Severus' relaxed one. 

The effect was instantaneous. Severus froze in midchew before he swallowed, glaring at Lucius. 

"What the blazes?!" Severus sputtered, looking at his hand and then at Lucius, as if the blond had lost it completely. 

"Come now," Lucius said in a quiet tone. "We wouldn't want Narcissa to think we weren't enjoying ourselves." 

"Look," Severus began in an exasperated tone. "I-" 

Lucius knew exactly what was coming. This would be interesting, keeping Severus off kilter. "I need you Severus." He said quietly as he looked intently at the other man, linking their fingers together. 

"What?!" Severus shrieked. 

Lucius gripped Severus' hand as he made a jerking motion to snatch it away. Thank Salazar he had cast that Silencing spell. Severus' shriek of indignation would have definitely been heard from the house. He watched as Severus started sputtering out gibberish. Of course, it more than likely wasn't gibberish; it was just that Severus didn't know what to say first and far too many things were more than likely swirling around in his incensed mind. 

"Are you quite done now?" Lucius asked in a calm and slightly amused voice. 

"What the bloody hell do you need me for?!" Severus finally managed to spit out, his face red and flustered as he scowled heartily at Lucius. 

"The Dark Lord has come up with a plan. It's in the early stages, but your…expertise and connections are needed for this. 

Severus narrowed his eyes slightly as he regarded Lucius for a long moment. "And what exactly does the Dark Lord expect of me?" 

"He doesn't know I asked you; nor will he," Lucius paused for a moment. "I would like to see a plan come to fruition." 

Severus gave him a peculiar look. "'A plan'? Don't you mean the Dark Lord's plan?" 

"I mean a plan," Lucius repeated pointedly. "And that is why I need you." He drew his hand away from Severus', reclining slightly in his seat. 

Severus didn't say anything for another long moment. "I think it's time I left. I have a mountain of work waiting for me at Hogwarts." He rose from his seat. 

"I'll walk you to the doors." Lucius said, rising from his own as well. 

They walked silently into the manor to the front doors. Lucius watched as Severus opened the front door; he had already seen Narcissa lurking at the corner of the second floor, looking down to the foyer. Lucius leaned in, to whisper into Severus ear. 

"We both know sharing is not my forte. Don't be a fool and leave this chance to pass; it's the one chance some people would love to have." 

Severus barely gave him a second glance as he walked out and closed the door behind him. It was a few minutes later that Lucius heard the faint 'crack' of an Apparation through the door. He smirked silently to himself as he heard Narcissa' not so quiet steps slink away to another part of the house. He watched the door a bit longer before he turned around and made his way up to his study. The Quaffle wasn't in his hands any more. 

_______________________________________________________


	5. Chapter 5

_**xikum**_: evil grin and cackle Yup. And what he has to do later on only makes it that much worse. And as to Lucius and his 'evil, twisted, utterly delicious sense of humor', will, I hope I did it justice. That's what I figure his sense of humour would be like. Heh, sounds a touch like mine. 

_**Plastraa**_: Osmosis! Science! Biology!! Augh! My brain!! lol Snogging...well...there's something better than snogging. It's coming, I promise! I swear! And life really sucks; I have enough to buy the pimp cane, but I can't; the money is needed for other things. TT I should just do the proper Slytherin thing: blackmail the cash from my prat of a brother. smug smirk 

_**Strawberry Palova**_: lol Today we have a double serving of _Come the Maëlstrom_, fresh and ready to read! Enjoy! 

_**MustIBeAMalfoy**_: Glad you liked it. Computer is still giving me trouble, but that should be over with soon enough. I have another friend that can reformat my comp but says I should try to fix it first before resorting to having him do that. I'm now hoping to have it fixed in a week and a half. 

_**Immortal Memories**_: Pretty much. Think of it as a smoke screen so Narcissa doesn't suspect that he's seeing someone else, and starts snooping even more. 

_**Jazzylady**_: Why? It's called....oh wait, that's giving away plot! zips lips Erm, there's a reason. Yeah, it was. The only thing I could think of concerning Severus' reaction was that he would just about have a shrieking fit. 

_**LusikiThanatos**_: lol Glad you liked it. Two more chapters posted. Read and be happy. I'll try to post again soon. crosses fingers even if I have to kick Jeffy off the comp again...like today when I posted these. . 

_**Shinigami Liliz Black**_: My dear friend, Lucius almost _always_ has something up those sleeves of his. Severus and Harry...well, they eventually get along. And they eventually get stuck in a room. That is all of future plot that I plan to reveal at the moment. Yay!! Sketch!! Excellent! thumbs up Man, I miss talking to ya on MSN. 

A/N: Man, this is why I love my reference books. This chapter gets kinda Quidditchy at the end, so I'll clear this up now. The 'Starfish and Stick' is an actual Quidditch move as described in Quidditch Through the Ages. The moves, the 'Potter Drop' and the 'Weasley Spinner' are ones I made up and will be described in greater detail later on in the fic. koffhinthintkoff And two chapters on the same day!! Yay!!! shuffles off to eat cookies 

_**Come the Maëlstrom** _

Chapter Five 

"Are you even trying?" 

"Yes," Harry replied, his face screwed up and fingers clenched tightly around his wand as he repelled Moody's attack with a pale blue shield. 

"Give him a break, Alastor." Remus said from his perch on the sides. 

"He'll get a break he's mastered it…again, Remus." 

At this point. Harry was more than a bit fed up. He dropped his shield and hit the ground, letting the attack fly right over his head to crash into a nearby vase and shatter into jagged pieces. Harry picked himself up, repaired it and placed it back in its spot before he made his way over to a chair and plopped down in it, wiping his brow. 

Bucephalus didn't know what to do when Moody and Lupin had showed up and all it had taken for them to gain entrance was one intimidating growl from Moody. That how Harry's quiet breakfast had been interrupted and he found himself here in this unused classroom, going through virtually every single drill Lupin and Moody had taught him in two years in the space of eight hours. He didn't want to hear the words to another curse for at least three days. 

"Stick a fork in me," Harry muttered wearily. "I'm done." 

"Alastor," Remus began. "Considering that we got started around 9 in the morning and it's now almost 5 in the afternoon, I think Harry has done extraordinarily well." 

"Fine, fine," Moody grumbled as he took a swig from the flask from his pocket. "That's enough for today. We can pick up tomorrow morning, bright and early at-" 

"Seven?" Harry offered; that was the time Moody usually had him up at for the training. 

"Good, you remember," Moody said gruffly. "I'll see you both tomorrow." 

Harry gave a half-hearted 'Bye' and wave as he let his head flopped back against the chair. Once the door closed behind Moody, Harry let out a very audible sigh of relief. 

"You did very well today, Harry." Remus said as he came over and sat down beside Harry. 

"Mergh," Harry grunted as he closed his eyes. "I feel like someone put me through a blender." 

"Blender?" 

"Muggles use it to mix things up," Harry said before he rubbed his face briskly. "At least dinner's soon." 

"You're coming down to the Great Hall to eat?" Remus looked at him hopefully. 

"Um…no." Harry said quietly. 

"You should Harry," Remus began. "Your friends know you're back and they're starting to think you're avoiding them." 

Harry didn't say anything for a moment. "I'm not, I mean…you see…it's just…" he fell silent trying to word it properly. "I'm not trying to avoid them. But the last thing I want is everyone asking me questions about every little inconceivable thing." 

"Ah, I see," Remus said with a nod of his head. "That's perfectly understandable. Just, please, for my sake, come down sometime soon; Hermione is driving me nuts. Severus too." 

"Hermione?" Harry looked at Remus puzzled. "What's she worried about now?" 

"She's afraid you might not be eating enough, and she keeps asking either one of us to see if you're all right." Remus paused. "You're oddly short for your age, but it's nothing to be worried about. And you have been eating…right?" 

"Yeah, three meals a day; I'm growing just fine." Harry replied, relieved Remus didn't ask him any more questions. 

Lucius was the only person he'd breathed a word to about the abuse he suffered every summer. He wouldn't be bothered about Dumbledore and his opinion on the subject; he'd probably see it as a necessary evil. Harry knew his somewhat short height more than likely had to do with his very poor diet at the Dursleys. He'd always been scrawny as a kid, and his growth spurts had always come late and it wasn't much of a spurt. The poor diet also wreaked havoc with his immune system and he'd found himself sick rather frequently when he was a kid. But he wasn't about to tell anyone else did. But he'd better look into something to fix the problem soon before people starting asking seriously. 

"I'll make sure to tell her; at least I'll be able to eat my dinner in peace for awhile." Remus chuckled. "You know, I always thought you'd be a bit taller, but I suppose you'll hit a late growth spurt or something." 

"Yeah, I probably will." Harry said, hoping that was the end of the questions. "It's a bit late, but it'll come." He gave another stretch and rose. 

"Where are you off to now?" Remus asked, looking at him curiously. 

"To do something rather insane." 

"And that would be?" 

"Invite Professor Snape for tea." 

Remus stared at him for a long moment. "That is insane. What makes you think he'd actually accept?" 

Harry shrugged. "I guess that's what I'll find out when I ask him." 

"Then you may want the password to Dumbledore's office; when I popped out for a moment, that where he was headed, and he's probably still there." 

"There's a new password to Dumbledore's office?" 

Remus nodded his head. "It's Swedish Berries." 

"Thanks," Harry said with a grimace. "You just shot down my plan of attempting to find him for a whole five minutes and then giving up." 

"Sorry then," Remus laughed. "If you don't mind me asking, is there a particular reason why you're inviting Snape to tea?" 

"Dumbledore feels we should get along better and develop a bit of trust in one another." 

"He actually said that?" Remus gaped at Harry. 

"Not quite in those words but that's the gist of it. I think Dumbledore's loosing it." 

"Well…that's….um…" Remus was obviously struggling for an answer. "He wants you to develop trust with Snape?" 

Harry chuckled at the disbelief in Remus' voice. "Yeah; I would have had a good laugh about it if I hadn't known that Dumbledore was serious." 

"So would have I," Remus said. "Well, at least you're making the effort…which is more than I could probably say for Snape." 

"Well, I figure suffering tea with him for a bit is much better than have Dumbledore possibly locking us together in a room." 

"Well said," Remus agreed with a nod. "Guess you'd better get going then." 

"Wish me luck. I have a feeling I may need it," Harry said wryly. 

"Or something afterwards. I'll send Hermione by with something, all right? It should be useful." 

"Thanks," Harry said gratefully as he reluctantly walked towards the door. 

He really wasn't looking forward to this. But it certainly beat suffering whatever the Headmaster would come up with if they didn't try. His steps echoed faintly in the empty hallway as he made his way to the second floor. He had just made his way to the gargoyle status when he realized he didn't even have anything set up for tea in his rooms. Swearing a bit to himself, he turned around and hurried up into his chambers, wondering how to get a house elf to come. He spent a good five minutes standing in the parlour trying to think of someway before he finally gave up. 

"Um…Dobby?" 

There was a soft sound followed by, "Harry Potter is wanting something?" 

Harry turned around and saw Dobby standing there looking at him eagerly with a wide smile. "That was awfully quick Dobby." 

"Dobby has been brining Harry Potter his meals. Dobby didn't want to see Harry Potter moping around." 

"You're the one who's been bringing my meals?" 

Dobby nodded his head. "Dobby doesn't mind. Dobby was always hoping that maybe Harry would be up one day when he came." 

"Hm, I must have been sleeping a lot." Harry murmured to himself. 

"What is Harry Potter wanting now? Dinner? A snack? Or maybe-" 

"Actually," Harry began cutting Dobby off from what sounded like a very long list. "All I want is a tea set for two." 

"All right! Dobby can do that!" and with that the house elf disappeared only to reappear a few seconds later. "Um…Dobby is wondering who is Harry Potter having over for tea." 

"Professor Snape." Harry said a bit glumly. 

Dobby made a mournful sound. "Dobby will bring Professor Snape's favourite tea." 

And with that Dobby disappeared. Harry shook his head with a small sigh before he left his chambers and made his way back down to the second floor. The gargoyle peered down at him from its perch. He paused for a moment, looking at it. He'd never realised it before, but this gargoyle was odd. The only way in which he could think to describe it was beautifully hideous. 

"Heh, there's a contradiction," he muttered. "Swedish Berries." 

The gargoyle slid aside to reveal a flight of steps stretching upwards. Harry stared at it in puzzlement for a moment. Since when had the stairs stopped twisting upwards? He gave a shrug before he started walking up. It all seemed a bit puzzling, doing the walking instead of letting the stairs bring him up to Dumbledore's office door. It was probably some security measure implemented. All Harry knew was that he certainly would want to be stuck in this passageway up. His steps halted as he approached the top, hearing loud voices coming from the other side of the door. 

"…telling you Albus, it was no mistake!" Severus sounded quite insistent and angry. 

"Now Severus," Albus sounded patient; the kind of patient a parent shows with a child. "…you're just overreacting." 

Harry moved a bit closer and pressed his ear to the door so he could hear it all as clearly as possible. 

"No, I'm not!" the words were a bit muffled, but Harry was pretty sure Snape spat that sentence out. "Lucius knows about the existence of the Order!" 

Harry's eyebrows furrowed together; so that's what they were arguing about. 

"…think the Order has…badly compromised?" Dumbledore asked softly after a few minutes of silence. 

Harry had to strain to hear Dumbledore's words. It sounded as if he asked Snape if he thought the Order had been compromised in some manner. 

"I can't honestly say," Snape said after a long moment. "Lucius is puzzling…" 

"What do you think he really asked you?" 

"Judging from what he said, the Dark Lord has some sort of plan to bring Hogwarts down and ensure his victory." There was silence for a moment as Snape stopped speaking. "It was as if he was offering a chance to get the Dark Lord first and bring him down." 

There was a long silence in which Harry found he has holding his breath in anticipation. So Lucius had started to put their plan into action. The mantra of, '_Take it, take it, take it_' ran through his mind as he strained his ears to hear the next words spoken. 

"Are you sure of this?" Dumbledore asked. 

"Like I said I don't know. You know the Dark Lord hasn't trusted me completely for a long time now. This could be nothing more than a very elaborate trap to flush out someone he suspects as a spy. Who knows who else Lucius has put this offer to." 

"Do you think he has done that?" 

There came an extremely long silence. "No." 

"What makes you think that?" 

"I don't bloody well know!" Severus exploded. "But I don't think he has." 

There came another long silence before Dumbledore spoke. "I see." 

"You can't possibly be serious, Albus!" Snape sounded highly affronted. 

"My dear boy, I haven't said-" Dumbledore began. 

"I know that tone." Snape said in an accusing voice. 

"I know you have concerns," Dumbledore began. "But I think they shall have to wait for the moment while you and Lucius craft a plan." 

Harry had to bite his lip hard to stop his triumphant cry from being heard. 

"Albus!" Snape roared. 

"This may be just what we were waiting for. I don't know what may have changed his mind but I believe we should take it. And from all indications this sounds like a genuine offer from Lucius Malfoy. This war could be over before fall comes, Severus." 

"This is absolutely ludicrous!" Snape bellowed. "How can you sit there and even contemplate accepting this offer?!" 

"Severus," Albus said calmly, "You will-" 

Harry decided now was the time to knock, before Snape could convince Dumbledore to not accept the offer. 

"Who is it?" Dumbledore called out. 

"It's me, Sir." Harry replied. 

"Ah, come in Harry!" Dumbledore called cheerfully. 

Harry opened the door and stepped in, seeing Snape standing there with the most impressive of scowls and crossed arms. Dumbledore opened his mouth to speak, but Snape beat him to it. 

"What do you want?" he demanded belligerently. 

"I was trying to find you. I thought I'd invite you for a cup of tea." 

Snape looked between him and Dumbledore before he stalked out from the office without as much as a word. Harry watched as he walked out before he waved goodbye to Dumbledore and started down the stairs. The moment Harry stepped off the stairs and the gargoyle slid back into place he found himself prevented from walking anywhere else by Snape, who was standing right in front of him. 

"What the devil do you really want?" Snape demanded. 

"Tea," Harry said simply. "Or are you afraid that I managed to poison your cup with my inept potion making skills?" 

Snape glared at him. "Five points from Gryffindor for your cheek." 

Harry didn't do anything beyond smiling as they silently started walking down the hallway towards the flight of stairs to the third floor. Harry knew Snape would never admit it, but Harry had given him the perfect excuse to escape a rather one-sided losing argument with Dumbledore. They arrived at Harry quarters and, five minutes later, were settled into their respective seats with steaming mugs of teas in their hands. Snape seemed to relax a bit from the first sip and the silence didn't seem as tense anymore. Harry wasn't too sure how long they had sat there in silence, sipping tea, but they were on their second cup when he cleared his throat to finally speak. 

"Professor?" he asked hesitantly; he wasn't too sure why he was even bothering. 

Severus simply glanced over at him, as if wondering why he was risking the rather companionable silence. 

Harry took a deep breath, steeling himself before he spoke again. "Can I ask you something?" 

The silence definitely changed after that. It was as if Snape were weighing each of his words for validity and any trace of sarcasm. And apparently finding none, Snape finally spoke. 

"About?" 

Harry opened his mouth to speak, only to find nothing coming out. What was he thinking? Snape would start asking questions, and Harry hadn't even attempted to try and find the solution on his own. And he'd suffered enough of Snape seeing his memories during their Occlumency lessons; if Snape suspected something, he didn't need to provide Snape with verification of any sort. 

He shook his head. "It's all right Sir," he said with a shake of his head. "I'll just look it up myself." 

Snape regarded Harry for a long moment with a shewd expression. "And possibly kill yourself if you find what you're looking for and attempt to brew it?" Snape sneered. 

Harry scowled at him over his mug. "You know, I didn't _have_ to invite you here again…especially after last time. Your attitude isn't helping." 

"My attitude has always been the same. Try adjusting yours. It's a touch arrogant." 

"Me?!" Harry spluttered at Snape's sarcasm that clearly said it was beyond a touch. "Maybe if you bothered to act human for once in your life rather than some skulking overgrown vampire bat then-" 

"How dare you!" Snape said, his own ire rising quickly. He placed his mug on the coffee table, glaring at Harry. "I suffer your ignorance, ineptitude and moronic babblings time and time again, with far more patience than humanly possible and you have the galling _audacity_ to say that I need to act human?!" 

"All I ever get from you is sarcasm, sarcasm and more sarcasm! Not to mention the fact that you hate my very guts! What the hell am I supposed to think? That you secretly want to be my best friend and all you need is a fucking hug?!" 

"Watch you language," Snape hissed. "And maybe if you used you intelligence, of which I find myself more and more doubtful that you posses each day, we wouldn't have this problem." 

"Watch me use it now; get the bloody hell out of my rooms!" he snarled at Snape. "Forget I even attempted this! You can rot in hell for all I care, as can that trust Dumbledore wanted us to have." 

"The feeling is mutual." Snape spat out before he quite literally stomped out of the room. 

A few seconds later, Harry heard the sound of a portrait slamming shut. He sagged against the couch, sulking rather petulantly at the wall. That was it. Let them suffer whatever Dumbledore had planned. They sure as hell couldn't do this on their own. And Harry would be damned if he had to deal with that bloody insufferable man any more than he absolutely had to. When he heard the portrait creak open, he rose from his seat and stalked to the hallway, quite ready to tell whoever it was to piss off and not bother him. He paused for a moment when he saw it was Ron. 

"Don't kill me!" Ron protested, hiding behind a rather large book. "'Mione sent me." 

Harry looked at Ron for a bit longer before he stomped back to his seat and flopped down. He waved his wand at Snape's mug so the tea in it disappeared. Ron followed him in hesitantly, sitting on the end of the couch closest to Harry as he slid the book on the table. 

"What has you so wound up?" Ron asked. 

"Snape." Harry said curtly. 

Ron winced. "Ouch. What was he doing here?" 

"Dumbledore wants us to develop trust and get along," Harry smiled slightly at Ron's abrupt bark of laughter. "I figured I'd be nice and invite him up for tea. Never again, as long as I bloody well live. Trust Snape, ha!" 

"Good call," Ron affirmed with a nod of his head. "You tried and Snape screwed up; simple enough. Don't worry; I'm sure it'll all work out in the end." 

Harry simply nodded his head, looking at the book now. "What's that?" 

Ron shrugged. "I dunno; 'Mione says it's from Lupin though. She was supposed to bring it, but she just shoved it in my hands in the common room, said to give it to you and then took off." 

"Odd," Harry mused. "Where'd she run off to?" 

"Dunno. Probably to ask a teacher a question if you ask me." 

"Classes are still on?" 

"Kinda. Classes outside have cancelled. Herbology, Care of Magical Creatures…" 

Harry suddenly had a sinking feeling in his stomach as Ron trailed off with a pained look on his face. "Quidditch?" 

Ron nodded his head mournfully. "That got killed me too. Sorry mate." 

"Not Quidditch," Harry groaned; Quidditch was one of the things he had been looking forward to. He gave a heavy sigh after a few moments. "Well, what do you mean classes are kinda on?" 

"A lot of students got injured in that battle, since they snuck out and all. I mean really, it wasn't that bad that the DA members got out there; they were prepared! But the others that snuck out, the others that had no experience whatsoever or even knew what they were doing…" Ron shook his head. 

"I know what you mean," Harry said with a slight grimace. "But you were saying." 

"Oh yeah. Well, there were quite a few causalities and a lot of people are still recovering, so classes are kinda of run informally by the professors; you show up if you can. And the professors have been posting a 'recommended reading' list," Ron made quotation marks in the air. "That's been posted on the bulletin boards in the common rooms." 

"Recommended reading lists?" Harry repeated with a slight look of disbelief. 

"Yup. Which means absolutely no one, except Hermione maybe and a few others bother with it. Dumbledore's already said that classes will resume normally once this is all over with, so I guess they figure they should focus on the more important thing now and worry about schoolwork later." 

"I get it," Harry paused for a moment. "But still…Quidditch, gone…" 

"I know how you feel. All that practicing in the summer, and we only got to play three games." 

"But they were great games." Harry looked at the tea set. "You want some tea?" 

"Huh? Yeah, sure, thanks," Ron said. "Remember that Slytherin game, when you hung from your broom and steered it with you legs? You caught the Snitch in both of your hands right as you whipped past Malfoy. I still think you should call it the Potter Drop. It's a great play!" 

"You should have seen the look on his face up close," Harry grinned as he handed Ron the mug. "Priceless." 

"I'd imagine. Right by him and you nicked it." Ron chuckled. 

Harry had to chuckle as well. "Or that Ravenclaw game when you spun your broom around and knocked the Quaffle away with your broom handle. I still don't know how you managed that one, I mean, it's a broomstick; you could have missed the Quaffle completely. It should be called a Weasley Spinner." 

Ron chuckled, staring at his mug for a moment. "You know, 'Mione's great and all, but I missed this." 

"Same here," Harry said. "Now why don't you tell me about that Starfish and Stick move you pulled in the Hufflepuff game?" 


	6. Chapter 6

_**

Come the Maëlstrom

** _

Chapter Six

Lucius had to admit this was one of the more peculiar situations he had found himself it. Well, it seemed peculiar to him at the moment. Severus sat opposite him in a rather small booth for two in a corner with a rather uncertain expression on his face as he scrawled on a piece of parchment. This situation may have looked odd had they not been in the Three Broomsticks where this sort of sight was not uncommon.

"What are you doing?" Lucius finally asked.

"What does it look like?" Severus snapped, still scowling at the parchment.

"Talking to yourself and writing gibberish." Lucius replied coolly before taking a sip of his Firewhiskey.

Severus glared at him. "Far from it; you're the one who said this is how we should communicate about this. Now shut the hell up, you insipid fool, and let me think."

Lucius simply arched an eyebrow in question but he simply sank back into his seat with ease and not uttering a word as he sipped his Firewhiskey once again. Severus had written him a few days ago after that dinner, saying to meet him here around seven. Lucius had gotten here a good deal earlier. And the more he thought about the school, the more he realized Harry was quite literally down the road from him and far beyond his touch. It wasn't a pleasant thought in the slightest. And so Lucius had bought himself a few drinks to tide himself over before Severus came swooping into the establishment, much like a bat or oversized bird of prey. Not that Lucius said that out loud.

Of course what Lucius wasn't expecting was for Severus to show up in the blackest of mood, and snarling a bit at Lucius' soft snicker. Severus had barely said a word as he sat down, ordered his drink, and started to talk. But Lucius had quieted him, saying they couldn't be too careful. And Snape, who looked mightily vexed, took out a quill and parchment and started to write frantically. That had all happened about 45 minutes ago, so Lucius was finding himself to be a tad curious as to what could be taking Severus so long to write. Maybe he'd try broaching another subject at hand first.

"If I may ask," Lucius began. "What has you in a foul mood?"

"Potter." Snape spat out, not looking up from the parchment.

Lucius had to pause for a moment; now, it was important to say Potter and not Harry; very important; crucial even. He couldn't muck this up at all. "And why does Potter have you in a foul mood?"

"Keeps inviting me for tea," Snape snarled. "Of which is entirely pointless since I have to leave after five minutes of arguing. That boy is completely in sufferable."

Lucius' lips thinned. Harry was _far_ from insufferable. Harry was _wonderful_! How dare Severus slight Harry in such a manner? "You may want to attempt to get along with him."

Severus looked up from the parchment long enough to stare at Lucius. "Are you daft?" he demanded.

Lucius shook his head slowly; any faster and the room might start to move. And he was far from daft. "No; I'm wondering if you're the daft one. In case you've forgotten, you and I are unable to see this through completely. Potter, in all of his glorified goodness, is the only one who can do that."

Severus scowled. "When that insufferable boy learns to use his intelligence and not waste my time, I'll consider attempting to get along with him."

Lucius was hard pressed to not laugh out loud. The dark haired man would probably blow up like an Erumpent if he truly knew who's plan he was setting about seeing through. The thought of seeing Severus blow up was appealing in and of itself, but Lucius was more than content to settle for his chuckle that earned a puzzled look from Severus.

With a roll of his eyes, Lucius swirled the Firewhiskey around in the tumbler. "Salazar help us then; we may as well abandon this plan now then." He muttered before finishing his drink and signaling for another one.

"Drama queen," Severus snorted as he looked back at the parchment for a moment and then slid it over to Lucius. "Here."

Lucius gave Severus a slightly curious look as he started looking over it. Why, in the name of Salazar Slytherin himself, did Severus have something that looked long and complicated written down? This entire plan didn't' need to be long and complicated. He sipped at his drink and ordered another one for Severus before looking over the parchment carefully. In essence the plan was simple: poison and weaken the Dark Lord, lure him to Hogwarts under some false pretence, allow Harry to kill him and then Lucius and Harry could get back together. Barring Severus knowing about the last part, it was a brilliant plan.

"Quill." Lucius demanded imperiously, holding his hand out.

With a sour look, Severus handed it over. Lucius lips thinned grimly; Severus wasn't going to like this in the slightest. The quill moved across the parchment rapidly, scrawling widely over large sections until a few short sentences remained. Lucius handed it back to Severus without so much as a second look; as he was currently taking another sip of his drink, he felt it far more prudent to pay attention to the spirit in his tumbler.

"You complicate things far too much." Lucius pronounced as he rested his glass on the table.

Severus frowned. "You should keep unexpected occurrences in mind. If something happened an-"

Lucius waved a hand dismissively as he drained his tumbler. "Look, we're aiming for rapidity, correct?"

"To a certain degree, yes." Severus admitted in a thoroughly unhappy tone.

Lucius gave a rather smug nod of his head. "And who's the only other person working with me on this?" he waved for another drink.

"Me," Severus said in a tight tone. "You don't live long by taking stupid risks. Honestly Lucius, you should know that-" He stopped, watching as the drink was brought over and Lucius downed half the contents easily. "How many of those did you have before I arrived?"

Lucius gave a rather nonchalant shrug. "Five."

"Then that's your eighth one." Severus said sliding the glass away.

Lucius scowled and slid the glass back. "A plan with all that extra substance is bound to fail. We're supposed to come up with fiendishly complicated plans that involve backstabbing, power plays and the like. Who'd suspect something so simple? That's the last thing that would pop into their mind. And even if it did, they'd think it so ludicrous that they'd disbelieve it anyhow. Besides what you had, that's far too much to accomplish in so short a space of time."

"In how short a space of time were you thinking of accomplishing this?" Severus asked in a guarded voice.

"Three weeks." Lucius stated simply.

"Three weeks?" Severus hissed. "It can't be accomplished in three weeks. Circe, just how pissed are you?"

"Oh yes it can," Lucius smirked as he tilted his tumbler slightly in Severus' direction. "He's very eager for information. I've been holding it back a bit to make him more…hasty. He's almost ripe for the picking." He drank down the rest of the contents of the glass.

Severus picked it up and sniffed it delicately, withdrawing almost immediately. "No wonder you're so pissed."

"I'm having a bad week." Lucius said with a scowl of his own.

"Trouble in paradise?" Severus asked dryly.

"Piss off." Lucius said, giving him a nasty look.

Severus simply gave a peculiar little sound before looking over the parchment. "What kind of information did you need?"

"What you and your little friends are up to in that impregnable castle of yours," Lucius commented. "A way to sneak him in so he has no clue and when it's too late he can't flee anywhere."

"Anything else?"

Lucius paused for a moment. "If there're guards, where the students' quarters are-"

"Why?" Severus immediately interrupted.

"To keep him away, you dolt!" Lucius snapped. "Honestly…"

Severus held his hands up in pacifying manner. "And that's it?"

"I believe so," Lucius said before he paused for a moment. "I could use another drink."

"I think we're done here." Severus said as he folded up the parchment and handed it to Lucius as he rose.

Lucius rose as well, albeit a bit unsteadily, and slipped it into his pocket. He was pretty much ready to go home, and sleep this off. Tomorrow morning's hangover be damned; if he dreamed of Harry he wouldn't be complaining much. He blinked a bit when Severus dragged him towards the Floo fireplace. "What is it now?" Lucius asked in a testy voice.

"Friends don't let friends Apparate drunk_1_." Severus quipped with a sanctimonious smirk on his face.

"I am not drunk." Lucius said.

"Of course you're not." Severus said with a wry tone.

"Fine; semi-drunk." Lucius conceded.

"You imbibed more alcohol than you could handle. Ergo, despite your protestations that you are not drunk and or only semi-drunk, you cannot safely Apparate."

"Really, this is quite-"

"One drink is all it takes to lead to a nasty splinch _2_." Severus quipped with that blasted sanctimonious expression.

"Fine, fine." Lucius grumbled, taking a handful of the Floor powder; since when had Severus turned into a public service announcement? He supposed the man had to get his kicks somehow, but ribbing Lucius was not a means of getting said kicks. He just might kick back…when things didn't tilt at ludicrous angles, of course.

"I suppose you'll have the sleep of Satan himself tonight," Severus said. "I hope you have some hangover cure for in the morning."

"Sadistic bastard," Lucius muttered as he stepped into the fireplace. "Malfoy Manor." he called out as he flung the Floo powder down.

The house was dark as he arrived in foyer fireplace. He paused for a moment, squinting slightly before he started walking, swaying from side to side slightly, but making his way up the stairs slowly. When he made it to his bedroom he had to pause again for another moment; why was his bed rocking as if it were on a boat?

"Salazar, I am pissed." he mumbled to himself as he closed the door.

He walked towards the bed, dumping his cane on the floor and stripping his clothes as he went. By the time he approached the cool silk covered surface and slid underneath the blankets. Was life rotten? It certainly seemed that way. Why did pissy Severus get to go back to the castle? Life was obviously deciding to mock him in a rather cruel manner. Lucius sighed; he would give himself a headache if he lingered on this any longer than he really should in his present state. He closed his eyes, surrendering to the grateful oblivion of sleep.

* * *

A few things made themselves painfully obvious to Lucius as he opened his eyes blearily. One was that a dull throbbing ache had firmly settled itself between his temples and was currently making light and sound painful to bear. The second was the insistent knocking on this bedroom door that seemed to reverberate crazily in his skull. The third was the burning sensation coming from his forearm from his Mark. 

That was three things to deal with immediately, and he was barely functioning at the moment; wonderful.

With a low groan, he rolled out of bed and shuffled to bathroom, seeking out the vial of hangover cure. Once he found it, he swallowed the vial contents in one gulp, feeling the ache start to disappear immediately. He walked back out into the bedroom and shrugged into a robe before answering the door to find Narcissa standing there with a rather livid expression. Lucius gave a sigh and started to close the door. Narcissa wedged her foot inside to stop him.

"There's something we need to discuss." Narcissa said tersely.

"I'm sure there is," Lucius sneered as he pushed her foot aside. "And I'm sure it's some trivial concern of yours that will only bore me more." He started to close the door.

Narcissa interposed her shoulder, her expression darkening. "My lawyer just Owled me; he found out something rather interesting."

Lucius frowned as he looked at her impatiently; it had to be the same lawyer she was sleeping with. Quite frankly Lucius didn't have the time for this. His mark was starting to hurt far more now. "And that would be what?"

"It concerns your will."

Lucius simply looked at her, waiting to hear the rest.

"Well?" she demanded. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Nothing, you ingratiating harpy," Lucius said curtly. "My will is none of your business and its not going to be changed any time soon. Now, get the hell out."

And with that Lucius pushed Narcissa from the doorway before he shut the door and locked it. He rubbed at his forearm absently as he hurriedly dressed and left the house to Apparate to the Dark Lord's presence. He'd wasted precious time getting rid of Narcissa, and keeping the Dark Lord waiting was akin to severely risking your health and quite possibly your life. The room was dark and Lucius was painfully aware that aside from Severus, this gathering was painfully small - a grand total of only 7 Death Eaters.

"You're late." Voldemort didn't sound very pleased at the moment.

"Forgive me, my Lord." Lucius said, making the bow of obeisance to kiss the hem of Voldemort's robe.

Voldemort anything for a moment as Lucius straightened back up and slunk back into the small crowd. "You are going to retrieve something for me," he finally said. "Something very specific."

"What do you want us to get for my Lord?" Avery asked in a quiet voice.

"Do you want it…alive, my Lord?" MacNair asked, the edge of his axe glinting ominously in the light.

"I want them both alive," Voldemort said. "I think Dumbledore has had his fun with Mr. Potter's generous providers of three months; it's time we had ours."

"My Lord," Severus' voice was hesitant. "I must state again that Dumbledore had them Oblivated; I believe he performed it himself."

Nothing was said for a moment as Voldemort regarded Severus for a long moment, index finger absently stroking his wand.

"I'll deal with your…impertinence afterwards," He said. "I will easily be able to undo Dumbledore's handiwork."

Lucius glanced at Severus; if the Dark Lord got his hands on Ernesto and Valencia, his cover would be blown away like a pixie caught in a hurricane.

"My Lord, if I may beg something of you..." Avery spoke up once more.

Lucius absently paid attention as Avery asked the Dark Lord for the honour of seeing the mission through. Of course, poor Avery was going to regret asking for it when it was botched and he had to answer to Voldemort. If they could get Ernesto and Valencia up to the attic then there was a chance that they could escape whatever fate Voldemort had in store for them. When they got their Portkey - a battered and worn old bowl - the familiar tug beneath his navel came and everything became a whirlish blur. He had a faint idea of how he was going to manage this new development; he had a feeling it wouldn't come to that, but he'd drag Severus along with him kicking and screaming if need be.

* * *

_1_ - I know this isn't my creation. I remember reading it in a fic somewhere, and it just fit too damned well to think up of something else patronizing for Snape to say. So…um, again, not mine. If you came up with this, e-mail and let me know so I can give you credit. 

_2_ - this one is mine!


	7. Chapter 7

Yes, I know my replies to reviews are horribly overdue! So replies and then new chapter! Yay!

_**xikum**_: Yup, Severus is being one massive jerk. I see it as that he can't exactly try properly because he's so blinded by his hate of James Potter, which he transferred to Harry. He more than likely had some issues with James that never got resolved and so he's taking it out on Harry. And Harry's self- control…well, they learn their lessons eventually. . Yes, poor Lucius…three weeks…I don't think I'd survive. Will Narcissa leave in a huff? That is for a future chapter.

_**Bookworm**_: Two in one go, I know. Harry's becoming disillusioned about certain things and taking measure to do something about it as best he can; a person can only sulk for so long. And Lucius does have a rather large problem on his hands at the moment but he always finds someway to have things go his way, doesn't he?

_**Prongs**_: Thank you! I'm really working on it.

_**Lusikithanatos**_: lol Glad you're happy. Here's another chapter. I'll do my best to get 8 up as soon as I come back from my camping trip. whispers 8 has smut!

_**Strawberry Pavlova**_: Glad you liked the chapters. Lucius and Harry meet up in the next chapter.

_**Shinigami Liliz Black**_: Glad you got a laugh. Yup Lucius has to deal with that. Things always get worse before they get any better. Call me pessimistic but that's the way it usually is.

_**Signeus**_: Yup, I will most certainly keep on writing. Glad you enjoyed it. Mmm, cherries….I should go eat some lunch…that got me hungry.

* * *

_**

Come the Maëlstrom

** _

Chapter Seven

Harry was reading over the book Lupin had sent him for the fourth time. So far it had been pretty interesting and he finally felt ready to give this meditation stuff a shot. Merlin knew he needed anything to calm himself down after the explosive teas he had voluntarily suffered with Snape. A part of him had denounced the words, 'I really have to do this' each and every time he had invited Snape up for tea. What had left him rather puzzled was the Snape came up each and every time. They'd spend a minute or two in silence, one of them would say something, and then would come the five minute argument and it would be over for the day. But the way Harry saw it this was certainly better than suffering whatever it was Dumbledore had up his sleeve for them.

"You and Eastern Meditation: What You Need to Know," he looked over the cover with its simple text. "I wonder why Lupin would have a book like this."

He placed the book on the coffee table and pushed the piece of furniture out of the way. The book had said that finding a quiet, comfortable spot was best when doing something like this for the first time. Check one thing off the list. Harry grabbed a few pillows from the couch and arranged them on the floor before he sat on them. The book had stressed being comfortable and the floor was far from comfortable without some cushioning. Check off a second thing from the list. Once he had settled himself, he rested his hands on his knees while straightening his back, closing his eyes and taking deep calming breaths. Now for the last thing on the list; focusing on something calming.

Harry paused for a second and opened his eyes again. Just what could he possibly think about that was _calming_? Everything had him stressed out in some manner. The teas with Snape, the extra training he now had to worry about with Lupin and Moody. Not to mention dealing with Bucephalus some days, or the somewhat snide mirror in his bathroom or Hermione increasingly peculiar behaviour. That girl was always running off somewhere, doing something, and she didn't see fit to even tell him or Ron what it was. Harry closed his eyes; the point of this was to calm himself down and relax a bit, not make it worse. Something calming, something calming….

After a few moments he smiled and closed his eyes once more. His breaths gradually became deeper and slower and all the things that were buzzing around in his mind started dropping away one by one until he was left with a single memory.

It had been one of those lazy Sunday afternoons and he and Lucius had been lounging in their room. Lucius was looking over the bright shiny blue book, brows furrowed slightly with a critical look while Harry had his head resting on one of Lucius' legs and he was reading through the gold one. He'd paused while turning the page and looked up at Lucius, forgetting about the book for the moment. The way the sunlight filtered in and came to rest on the bed, it made Lucius look rather…angelic. His hair seemed to glow and as he shifted it was like watching ripples of molten white-gold. He could still remember the feel of it beneath his hands; it was like silk. Lucius had looked down at him at that moment, arching an eyebrow and said, 'See something you like?' Harry had chuckled softly at that and given Lucius a smirk. Lucius' dry wit was another appealing aspect; of course there were the times when Lucius didn't seem to realize he had said something amusing until Harry pointed it out for him. Lucius had given a soft chuckle in response to Harry. Harry could still remember the pleasing soft baritone that sent small trills up his-

"Harry! Get here quick!"

Harry's eyes flew back open as he shifted and sprawled to the floor feet tangling up in the cushions. He stood up, looking around with a bit of confusion. Right, he was still in his rooms. He looked at the clock on the nearby table and was surprised to see that an entire hour had already passed.

Well, he had to say that the meditation was successful. Despite feeling the contentment start to trickle away he still felt oddly calm despite the slight prickling sensation that was coming from his scar. Even with Bucephalus bellowing as if the hounds of Hell were on his very heels. As he walked to the portrait hole, he could already hear Snape roaring in the hallway.

"Yes Buce-" He began as he walked out into the hallway.

"Harry!" Bucephalus said in a shrill voice. "Why, in the name of Athene herself, did you not answer me! I've been calling you for the past five minutes!"

Harry didn't find himself disturbed all that much by Bucephalus' words. He simply shrugged. "What is it?"

"Professor Snape is out here! With a stranger!" Bucephalus said sharply.

"All right," Harry leaned against the wall, looking at Bucephalus expectantly.

"I'm not letting in a stranger!" Bucephalus sputtered; he was obviously bothered that Harry's response had been so blasé. "I can't understand a damned word they're saying!"

Harry didn't say anything for a long moment, thinking. - Did it sound like this? -

Bucephalus' eyes widened. "You know that gibberish?!"

"It's not gibberish," Harry replied in a somewhat apprehensive voice. "It's Spanish. Let them in Bucephalus."

Bucephalus gave an affronted snort but swung aside to reveal Snape standing there with a black expression on his face, while Ernesto stood behind him. Harry's jaw dropped in disbelief.

His eyes had to be playing tricks on him. Ernesto wasn't supposed to be here. He was supposed to be back on the farm in Spain and dealing with the animals with Valencia. Not standing here in the hallway outside his room in Hogwarts…he wasn't even supposed to remember him! This all had to be some sort of mistake. That or it was one really sick joke.

"Er," he managed when he found his voice once more. "Professor?" he still didn't quite believe what he was seeing.

- Harry! -Ernesto exclaimed when he heard his voice. He rushed forward, knocking Snape aside and started inspected Harry. - What are you doing here?! Are you all right?! -

That jolted Harry from his stupor of doubt. He motioned for them to come in and guided Ernesto to the parlour, making sure he was seated on the couch. Harry's eyes flickered to Snape only once when he noticed the man, leaning against the far wall distancing himself as much as possible. Harry would much rather not have Snape here, but if he had to be better he stay there. Ernesto looked a bit pale and tremulous, ready to collapse at any moment but he was managing to keep his wits about. Harry sat down on the couch beside him, taking a deep breath. He opened his mouth to speak but Ernesto beat him to it.

- Harry, what's going on? -

Harry didn't say anything for a moment, running a hand through his hair.

- You remember me, right? -He asked hesitantly. He was relieved when Ernesto both nodded his head; he must have Deoblivated. - Maybe you should rest first before I explain everything, he suggested a bit anxiously. You can have my bedroom. Nothing else is going to happen to you. -

- Where am I? -Ernesto asked in a rather shaky and hoarse voice fraught with worry. - Where is Valencita? -

- You're in Britain, I don't know where Valencia is, - Harry said, glancing at Snape. - I'll answer any questions you have, but it might help if you calm down, rest for a bit…I don't want to spook you any more than you already are. -

Ernesto nodded his head, still looking around a bit fearfully. Harry took his to the bedroom and closed the curtains, leaving him to get some rest. When he came back out, he found Snape still standing there. He collapsed down into the single chair, looking up at him with what must have been a plainly curious yet neutral expression for he saw the genuine puzzlement on Snape's face.

"Is there anything you want, Sir?" Harry asked in a soft and polite voice.

Snape didn't say anything for a moment, looking thoroughly perplexed. "Albus says to not tell them anything."

"Who is Dumbledore kidding?" Harry snorted.

"Be that as it may-" Snape began.

"You know what; I don't really care to listen to Dumbledore on this particular subject." Harry watched as the corner of Snape's left eye ticked slightly.

"Listen-" Snape began.

"No, you listen," Harry began. "I've been listening to all of you, so I think it's time for me to start speaking. You can tell Dumbledore every single word of what I say here, I don't really care. I'd tell him myself but I want to be here when Ernesto wakes up.

"I found more of a normal life due to some freak accident in a battle rather than from the rather questionable choices Dumbledore has made in the area concerning my safety. Ernesto is terrified out of his right minds, and is taking this quite well if you ask me. I know them; the concept of our world wouldn't even have entered his minds and I'm not about to make it worse at the moment. "You can tell Dumbledore that I am telling them _everything_ whether he likes it or not. They took me into their home when they didn't have to go and gave me a place to stay from the kindness of their hearts. They deserve to know the truth and that's the least of things."

Snape didn't say anything for a long moment. Harry had half expected the eye tic to come back, or for Snape to darken with rage. Hr wasn't expecting the silence or the pensive look on Snape's face.

"As you wish," Snape said finally. "Potter."

It Harry's turn to not say anything for a long moment; the tone in Snape's voice was odd and had him…stumped for lack of a better word. Snape turned brusquely to leave and that seemed to make Harry's voice come back.

"Professor?" he called a bit uncertainly.

Snape stopped walking but he didn't turn back around. "What?"

"Do you know what happened to Valencia?"

There was a long tense silence in which neither one of them didn't move. After a few minutes, Snape gave a heavy sigh and spoke quietly.

"She's been captured by Voldemort."

Harry felt the blood rush from his face as he swallowed hard. "Voldemort will rip everything he can from her mind."

"Which is why we are trying to get her back as soon as possible." Snape replied quietly. "If you will excuse me…"

Harry didn't say anything to the slight sarcasm in Snape's voice. "Sir." He called suddenly. "You shouldn't be his messenger boy," Harry aid suddenly. "Tell Dumbledore he should tell me things himself. I'll let Bucephalus allow him in. Last message from me, I swear."

Nothing else was said, but Harry could have sworn that Snape nodded his head, but it was so slight that he wasn't all that sure. Snape continued walking and the quiet sound of the portrait opening and closing was all that was heard. Harry let his head fall back against the chair as he rubbed at his face. That wonderful calm feeling he had a short while ago was now replaced by a sort of weariness. He could more than likely use a rest as well now too.

* * *

A gentle shake to his shoulder made Harry wake rather abruptly. He looked around in surprise to find Ernesto looking a bit better but still with anxiousness on his face.

- Oh good; you're awake. Are you all right? How long have you been here since they kidnapped you? -

- No, I wasn't kidnapped, - Harry said as he rubbed at his eyes. - Are you all right? -

- I've been better, Ernesto said heavily as he sat down beside Harry. Your bathroom is…um… -

- The mirror talks? - Harry offered.

Ernesto went a bit pale. - Christ, I need a drink. A good stiff drink; can I even get that? -

- Yeah, -Harry began nervously. - But how it gets here may freak you out even more. -

- At the moment, I don't think that really matters, - Ernesto muttered.

- All right, - Harry said. "Dobby?"

"Yes!" The house elf popped up out of nowhere. "What can Dobby be doing for Harry Potter?"

"We need something to drink. Alcohol for him."

"Right away!" Dobby disappeared and reappeared a few moments later with a laden tray that he placed on the coffee table. "Is Harry Potter wanting anything else?"

"No, thank you Dobby," Harry said as he surveyed the tray; he should have known to be far more specific.

Dobby gave an enthusiastic little bow and disappeared again as easily as he had appeared. He glanced back to find Ernesto a pale white with his hands visibly shaking and a perturbed expression. Harry picked up a glass and poured a bit of Anom's brandy in it; at least, that's what the bottle said it was. He handed the glass to Ernesto who took it gratefully and gulped down the contents in one breath. It took two more glasses before he looked much calmer and his hands stopped shaking so much. Harry regarded the bottle for a moment before pouring himself a little bit in a tumbler to sip. Merlin knew he'd need something too to get through this explaination.

- Explain…please. - Ernesto finally said in a weak voice.

- Um…there's no easy way to say this, - Harry began.

- Just say it, - Ernesto started. - It just makes me more nervous hearing you say that. -

- You want me to be blunt? - Harry asked uncertainly. Ernesto nodded his head. He swallowed hard and finally spoke. - I'm a wizard. -

Ernesto gave something of a high-pitched panicky giggle and stuck his glass out. Harry poured a bit of liquid into the bottom. It sloshed in the glass as Ernesto lifted it to his lips to drink.

- A wizard, right. - He said when he lowered his empty glass.

- I'm serious, - Harry said after an awkward pause. - It's a rather long and complicated story. -

- I'm listening. -

- OK then, - Harry took a deep breath; he could only hope he explained this well enough. - There're two…um…worlds; the Muggle world and the Wizarding world. -

- What's a Muggle? - Ernesto asked abruptly in a still somewhat shaky voice.

- A person with no magical ability at all. -

Ernesto frowned and his brow furrowed. - Say this is true; what if a wizard has no magical ability at all? What are they called? -

- That's a bit different. Usually the people born to magical parents with no magic at all are called Squibs. -

- Hm, - Ernesto said. - Keep talking, -

- The thing is Muggles don't know about the Wizarding world at all, unless they have a child with magical abilities. -

- All right… - Ernesto said slowly. - What does this have to do with you? -

Harry took another deep breath. - When I was born 17 years ago, there was this Dark wizard by the name of Voldemort who thought that all Muggle-born wizards, - he paused until Ernesto nodded that he knew what Harry meant. - Shouldn't be in the Wizarding world and needed to be eradicated. He was all for the Wizarding world being only for the Purebloods. -

- Purebloods? - Ernesto echoed faintly.

- People who come only from Wizarding families and have no Muggles in the family at all. -

Ernesto looked sickened. - He went about committing mass genocide? -

- If he could have, he probably would have. - Harry said.

- What do you mean, 'if he could have'? - Ernesto asked in a faint voice.

- So far as I understand it, my dad was a Pureblood but he fell in love with my mum who was Muggle-born and married her and then they had me, - Harry began, feeling distinctly uncomfortable with the manner in which Ernesto was staring at him so intently. - They were part of a group that wanted to get rid of Voldemort… but one night Voldemort got to them first. -

Ernesto's eyes widen in shock. - Did he… -

- Yeah, -Harry said quietly. - He tried to kill me but it didn't work for some reason. He was forced out of his body, and I was left with this, - he brushed the hair back from his forehead to expose his scar.

Ernesto's eyes barely flickered towards it. - But where have you been living all this time? -

- My mum had a sister, and they raised me from when I was a child. - Harry replied. _'Bang-up job Petunia and Vernon did too'_ He couldn't stop the bitter thought from flitting across his mind. - I lived with them until I was 11 and I got a letter from Hogwarts, the place we're in now. It's a school. Ever since then, I've been coming here to study and going back to my aunt's in the summer. -

- So how did you end up in Spain by that road? - Ernesto asked.

- Voldemort attacked the school in an attempt to kill me, - Harry paused at the outraged and indignant noises Ernesto made. - Only something went wrong and I ended up in Spain -

- With Lucius. - Ernesto finished for him.

Harry nodded his head. - The thing is…no one is supposed to know about me and Lucius. -

- And why not? -Ernesto demanded sharply.

- Well….um…you see… - Harry knew this wasn't going to go over well. - He's kind of on Voldemort's side. -

Ernesto stared at him blankly for a moment before he muttered something about the glass being a waste of time and he reached for the bottle of brandy. A gulp later and he snapped out if it. And when he did, his eyes narrowed dangerously.

- Do you mean to tell me, - he began quietly. - That you're sleeping with a man who's supporting someone who wants to kill you? Is that it? -

- Not quite… - Harry said after a moment.

- What do you mean not quite?! - Ernesto bristled. - You just said it yourself! -

- He's not going to kill me or turn me over to Voldemort! - Harry retorted hotly. - Just trust me on this! -

- Trust you? - Ernesto said loudly. - You lied to us! -

Harry cringed a bit before sighing heavily. - I didn't tell you because I'm not supposed to. There's a whole Statute of Secrecy thing that clearly says that wizards are not to tell Muggles blah, blah, blah. I'm telling you now because you've obviously seen some things that disturb you and me telling you is the only way to explain it without getting myself into serious trouble with the magical government. -

- Understatement on the disturbing stuff. - Ernesto said harshly before he lapsed into silence for a long moment. - Is there any other reason why you didn't tell us? -

Harry felt his face burn red before he spoke in a small voice. - I thought maybe if I stayed there and you didn't know I wouldn't have to come back here. -

- Why wouldn't you want to come back here? - Ernesto asked in a puzzled tone. - You have family, friends, people that were obvi- -

- My family, - Harry said a bit bitterly. - Is a laughable joke. I'm not going into it. I don't want to. But needless to say, I am not going back there after all this is said and done with. And people, don't see me; they see this first and only. He showed his scar again. That's how I met my friends, Ron and 'Mione. They're great friends and all but sometimes I wonder if they would have bothered with me if I didn't have this bloody scar on my forehead. He gave a heavy sigh. When I first met you and Valencia, it was…nice to not have someone gawk at my head or know me as the Boy-Who-Lived. I was just Harry to you both. -

Ernesto reached over and patted Harry on the leg lightly. - If I was in your shoes, I think I'd be in the loony bin right about now. - He offered Harry the bottle.

- I'm fine, -Harry said raising his tumbler slightly. - You believe me? -

- Well, it all seems rather fantastical, - Ernesto began. - But the way you answered the questions so quickly and easily….no way you could be making this stuff up. So maybe you can answer something for me now. -

- What is it? - Harry said, feeling a massive surge of relief.

- With just what happened before I ended up here! Especially since I ended up in some office. - Ernesto said vehemently. - _I_ ended up in that overgrown bat's lap! -

Harry had to repress the sudden snicker of the thought of Ernesto sprawled across Snape lap; Snape must have been so pleased at that. - What happened exactly before you ended up in the office? -

- Valencia and I were watching TV in the living room when some people barge into the house. We bolted for upstairs for the attic. If we made it there, we could bolt the door shut until they left. -

- The attic door has bolts? - Harry asked.

Ernesto nodded. - When you close it, you should notice a bunch of small handles; you have to twist them to lock it into place. Combined it can take about 800 pounds of pressure before it would give. -

- I doubt it would hold up to what they had, - Harry said. - Were they wearing black robes, white masks? -

Ernesto nodded. - That's them. -

- Death Eaters…Voldemort's followers. - He added after a brief moment. - Voldemort must have come after you for information. -

- But we're safe here, right? - Ernesto asked.

- Yes. Voldemort still hasn't been able to break into Hogwarts. Harry said. So you arrived here, and then… -

- It's the most peculiar thing, - Ernesto said. - This old man asked me some questions, pointed his wand at my head and suddenly I _remembered_ you, as if you were wiped from my memories before. -

- I was, - Harry said grimly. - Your minds were Oblivated of me and probably of Lucius too. -

Ernesto looked highly shocked. - And who would have done such a thing! Wiping people's minds indeed. Don't they have ethics!? -

- Dumbledore was the one who more than likely ordered it done. -

Ernesto's face darkened considerably. - Dumbledore? -he said.

- Er…the old man you probably saw in the office. -

Harry was positive he saw a furious rage building up inside Ernesto. - And does he have anything to do with you being brought back here in such a sloppy fashion? And why no one will tell me what happened to my Valencita? -

Harry nodded his head. - Though I would have to say that- -

- Where's Dumbledore now? -

- Probably in his office. - Harry answered.

- I want a few words with him, - he asked a bit curtly. - Right now. -

- Er…I suppose. - Harry said, rising from his seat; he was honestly disturbed by the black look on Ernesto's face.

Harry nodded his head and led Ernesto from the room. They started for the second floor. The students in the hallway stopped to watch, the murmured whispers flying thick and fast. Wonderful; just bloody wonderful.

- Harry, - Ernesto asked in a tight voice.

Harry ignored the titters and whispers. - Yes? -

- You're still attending school right? -

- Yes. -

Harry could have sworn Ernesto's expression darkened even more before he spoke again. - I need you to do one very important thing for me. -

- All right. -

- Translate for me…honestly. No covering things up, no being polite. - He said tersely.

Harry nodded with a touch of hesitancy as they came to a halt in front of the gargoyle and he said the password. The gargoyle moved aside and they started walking up the stairs. Voices were rather audible from the other side of the door when Harry knocked on it. All the babble died and Ernesto opened the door and barged in.

"Oh Merlin…" Harry muttered as he walked in after Ernesto and closed the door.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: In a huge rush, but I didn't forget! I'll reply to reviews and the like next chapter, hope, you all enjoy this one. I'll try to fix the formatting...I hate double work when I have practically no time.

* * *

**_Come the Maëlstrom_**

_Chapter Eight_

The Dark Lord was livid. To put it rather crudely, he was super pissed and would be thrashing someone's ass before the night was done. Avery's contorted body lay on the floor, an expression of pain and horror frozen onto his face. No one dared moved lest they attracted Voldemort's attention. Those red, slitted reptilian eyes gazed down at Avery's body with loathing before he flicked them up to rest on the throng of nervous Death Eaters. Lucius' could the malevolent gaze rest on him for a moment; it was safer to keep his eyes on the floor.

"This is unacceptable," Voldemort spat out. "First Nott and now Avery; two failures are unacceptable!" he said venomously. "And no information from the woman as of yet!"

Thank Salazar Lucius was already tense; it hid the shudder that wanted to ripple through his body. He'd managed to make a Portkey – what was more illegality to his name anyhow at this point? – and slip it into Valencia's cell. It was, quite simply, a battered spoon. She had two more days to go before it transported her out of here into the one place that was undoubtedly safe: the headmaster's office at Hogwarts. If she could hold on for that much longer and not relinquish any information...

"Unacceptable!" the quaking word was followed with a Cruciatus curse to the person right by his side, Rookwood or someone else. He was never sure sometimes.

But the cold, calm rage in the Dark Lord's voice was even more terrifying; he'd never heard anything like this coming from the pale skeletal man before. But the Dark Lord had worked himself up into a nice little frenzy, yet all he was doing at the moment was gripping his wand tightly. Lucius wasn't sure what to make of it, or where to even start.

"Crabbe, Goyle," his voice crackled like an icicle shattering. "You are to purchase a house in the vicinity of Hogsmeade. No more of these long distance attacks."

Both Crabbe and Goyle nodded their heads and made a bow so low it was like grovelling on one's feet.

After a long moment, Voldemort spoke again. "Severus, how well does that simpering old fool trust you?"

"Well enough, my Lord." Severus said with a deep bow.

"Not good enough. I want him to trust you completely, in two weeks."

Severus seemed to hesitate for a moment. "My Lord that will take more time than-"

The rest of Severus' words were gone as Voldemort raised his wand so fast and uttered 'Crucio' that Lucius wasn't all that sure he heard it. But seeing Severus drop to the floor writhing in agony was proof enough.

"I don't want your excuses!" Voldemort hissed. "Don't you dare to contradict me! You have two weeks!"

"Y-Yes, my Lord!" Severus managed to gasp out.

Voldemort dropped the curse from him, leaving Severus to pick himself up to his feet shakily and kiss the hem of Voldemort's robe before melting back into the crowd of Death Eaters.

"Lucius,"

"My Lord?" Lucius gave a deep bow as well, keeping his eyes fixed on the floor.

"You are to continue as planned and to report back to me by the end of week." Voldemort paused for a moment. "And bring Draco's letters as well, I wish to read them myself."

"As you wish my Lord," Lucius replied; how advantageous for him that he withheld information.

"Now get out of my sight," Voldemort said. "You all disgust me."

That was all anyone needed to hear. They each bowed before vacating the room quickly. Lucius was no exception. The Dark Lord had been spitting with rage and yet only Avery had died and Severus had only suffered from about a minute of the Cruciatus. There was something going on here. Speaking of the ever-scowling man, where was he? Lucius turned around to see him coming up the hallway slowly, half bracing himself against the wall. A sharp pang of disgust struck him; Severus was one fairly conceited bastard and seeing him reduced to this due to the maniac's ego wasn't something he wanted to see at all. It could happen to him at any moment. He took Severus' arm and dragged him to a nearby fireplace, reaching into the container mounted at the side for Floo powder.

"Severus Snape's chambers, Hogwarts!" he said and threw down the powder.

The darkened hallway disappeared with a large burst of green flames and was replaced by the sight of simple black leather chairs and a dark forest green rug. Severus' chambers hadn't changed one bit from when he last saw them. He sat Severus down in a chair and quickly fixed him a cup of tea, wrapping the other's slightly trembling hands around it.

Severus glared at him. "What are you doing?" he demanded.

Lucius simply sat down, pulling back the cowl and removing the white mask. "What do you think?"

Nothing was said for a moment as Severus gulped down the tea, despite it being hot, and sagged back against the seat.

Lucius regarded him for a moment. "Another?"

"I need a drink," Severus snorted.

With a wry snort, Lucius rose and got Severus a glass of red wine, as well as one for himself. "This is not good," he commented thoughtfully as he sat back down in his seat.

"Obviously," Severus said in a snide tone. "He's accelerated his plans. At this rate, the attack will be in two weeks. One and a half if he attempts to speed up anything else. And as to the woman...well, it's only a matter. Either she gives the information or..." he trailed off.

"We'll have to try and soon," Lucius mused. "The plan is still workable; the Dark Lord has done so many rituals to himself that he must be vulnerable to something. Everything has a weakness. Once we find the hole, we have to blast it open as much as we can and quickly."

"Let that dratted brat do as he's supposed to." Severus snorted, taking a sip of his wine.

Lucius swirled his around gently in the glass, contemplating the ruby depths. "It's tight, but it can still be done. If you could find something to...expedite the process..."

"Daft," Severus mumbled before pausing for a moment. "Why the sudden rush?"

Lucius took in Severus' sidelong glance and gave a soft chuckle. "Aren't you tired of pandering to his megalomania?"

"I tired of it a few months after I joined. I'm rather curious though," Severus began, staring at his glass. "As to what could have happened in Spain to change you so much."

"And since when did it become any of your business?" Lucius replied smoothly.

Severus didn't say anything for a moment. "Oh yes, I brewed you a new batch of the Obscumens potion."

The note of mocking disagreement in Severus' voice wasn't lost to Lucius. "Will it work?"

"The potion's duration is two weeks, however, after a week; it is quite safe to ingest another batch of it."

"I see. I just want the thing to work," Lucius paused. "And possibly have a bearable taste." he added second later.

"If you wait here, I'll go finish it off," Severus said, rising from his seat slowly. "It'll take 30 minutes. No wandering."

Lucius watched Severus with scathing amusement as he disappeared into a back room and firmly shut the door. He sipped his wine once before leaving it resting on the short table by the arm. The silence of the room was welcoming and oppressive at the same time. When he felt slightly bored, he knocked on the door of the lab, only to receiving nothing in reply. He couldn't even hear anything. Severus must have soundproofed his lab with a charm. Ah, some things never changed. He was just sitting back down on the couch when an abrupt, and angry sounding knock, came from the door.

Normally Lucius wouldn't be bothered with it. But he was bored and the possibility of sending some student fleeing from the doorway was vastly appealing. And so, Lucius made his way to the door, listening to the following two knocks with great amusement. When he opened the door however, he saw the last thing he expected to see.

Harry. Harry Potter. Who looked like he had just rolled out of bed, hair flying in each and every way as the ends brushed just at his neck, green eyes looking like dark jade and those lips had never appeared to be such a dark coral, or so pouty...or ravishing.

"All right, look, Sir," Harry began, eyes fixed on his feet as he pushed past Lucius into the room, running a hand through his hair. "It's fairly obvious that..." Harry's words trailed off as he looked up, surprise written all over his face.

Lucius took one look at Harry before taking his hand and pulling him out into the hallway. Last thing they needed was to have Severus come out for something and find them together. He closed the door silently, hearing the lock click softly into place, before he turned around. And that was the last thing he was able to do since he suddenly found himself with an armful of Harry, who was kissing him rather passionately. He slid his arms around the younger wizard, his body reacting to having Harry flush against him and squirming in such an appealing and erotic manner.

"Merlin Luc," Harry gasped as he broke the kiss off, his glasses askew. "Can't say I'm not happy, but what are you doing here."

"Potion," Lucius replied tersely before he kissed Harry again, coaxing Harry's tongue out with his own.

Harry whimpered as rubbed against Lucius, sliding his arms around his shoulders. With a soft groan, Lucius broke off the kiss, nipping his way down Harry's neck.

"Classroom...down the hall." Harry said hoarsely, while his fingers started undoing buttons on Lucius' robe and shirt, seeking skin.

Lucius wasn't all that sure how he and Harry made it to the classroom. The way Harry was moving his hips, and the way his deft fingers were sliding over Lucius' skin and nipples, not to mention that thing he was doing to his earlobe, it was all very difficult to concentrate much less form coherent sentences. As soon as they were in, Harry reached down to turn the lock, while pulling on Lucius' robe with his other hand, causing the blond to tip forward slightly, pressing Harry against the door with his weight.

"Good," Harry smirked before he started kissing Lucius once more.

It seemed rather abrupt to Lucius, the way he buried his fingers in the thick messy black locks, and the way he seemed to be experiencing a massive head rush all at once. He felt rather breathless, as if he were riding a broom again for the first time. The way the blood was pounding in his veins made him think of the adrenaline rush of outwitting a far superior nemesis. Of course, they both could be attributed to the way Harry was kissing him rather thoroughly as Harry raised his hips to Lucius' to rub their hard, clothed cocks together. Their tongues clashed together, battling with familiarity and a touch of teasing.

They continued on, kissing and rocking against one another, hands seeking as many bared spots as they could. It wasn't long before Harry was writhing against the door, thrusting his hips frantically against Lucius. The friction, the sensation, the way Harry had clawed his fingers into Lucius' ass, creating a perfect blend of pleasure and pain, it wouldn't be long now before they both came.

With a soft growl, Lucius kissed Harry harder, rocking his hips more insistently. Harry's grip tightened even more as he bucked his hips wildly, shudders and hisses coming from him. That was Lucius' undoing as he felt the warm flood of release wash through his body, along with the seeping afterglow.

"Merlin..." Harry panted a few minutes later. "Bloody amazing..."

"Hm, I agree," Lucius said softly, nuzzling kisses against Harry's neck. He waited a bit before pulling out of Harry.

Harry whimpered a bit from the loss before he reached into his pocket for his wand with a slightly shaking hand and a few moments later, they were standing in the room, fully clothed. Another charm later and the traces of Harry's cum vanished from the desktop. The younger wizard stepped forward, burying his face in Lucius' chest.

"Mmm, I missed you so much." he sighed.

Lucius simply hugged him tighter, bowing his head and inhaling the scent of Harry's hair. This he would remember; the scent of tangerines and something else uniquely Harry. This...he would. "You have to show me that particular charm one day." He said quietly.

"One day," Harry said with a peculiar tone in his voice. "Lucius?"

"Yes?"

"Ernesto is here in Hogwarts. Dumbledore says that Valencia..." he trailed off.

Lucius didn't say anything for a moment. "The Dark Lord does have her. So far he has been unable to get any information from her. I smuggled a Portkey to her; it's not set to go off for two more days."

"Two days..." Harry murmured before chuckled. "That must infuriate him to no end, getting absolutely nothing from a mere Muggle."

Lucius couldn't help but smile at the biting sarcasm in Harry's voice. "Infuriate isn't the proper word; it's more along the lines of he could drop dead at any moment from stress alone."

"I bet," Harry chuckled once more before he gave a heavy sigh. "I'd better get going before Mrs. Norris comes sniffing around and gets Filch."

"That mummified old cat is still alive?" Lucius asked.

"Unfortunately," Harry chuckled softly with a faint smile. "I really don't want to leave..."

"I'll make it easier for you," Lucius murmured as he took Harry's hand and pressed a kiss to the palm.

Harry nodded his head, ghosting his fingertips over Lucius' lips. After pressing a light kiss against the fingertips, he turned to leave, steps slowly echoing in the classroom. Lucius hadn't thought that leaving Harry would be that hard. The part of his brain that he liked to call irrational was yelling at him to turn right back around and stay with Harry, consequences be damned. Thankfully, the rational part was still in control and it guided his steps out into the hallway and back into Severus' room. He was just walking in when he heard Harry's steps come out from the classroom, heading towards the stairs. He sighed and closed the door, only to find Severus standing in the doorway of his lab.

"Where were you?" Severus demanded.

"Kitchens; even I remember how to get there. I wanted something to eat." Lucius said in an offhand manner.

"The last thing we need is some student babbling that they saw you here in the night." Severus said after a moment. "Here, it's done."

Lucius regarded it for a moment before taking it and swallowing it down. It had gone from a wonderfully 'earthy' taste to something that, by all rights, would make a person seriously contemplate to eat lemons for the rest of their natural life if they had to take the potion frequently. Tears sprang to his eyes as he forced his protesting throat to swallow it. He was lucky he didn't' spit it out the moment it touched his tongue. But it must have been working properly this time because he definitely got a reaction.

"Bleah!" he spat out vehemently a moment later handing the empty beaker back to Severus. "That was even worse."

"It would have been worse had I not improved the flavour." Severus said in a snippy voice. "Well?"

"Well what?" Lucius asked.

"You know what I mean," Severus snapped impatiently.

"Tingles."

"That's it?"

"That's it."

"Good. Don't do any casting of complex spells. This potion needs a good hour before you'll be back to your normal state. And don't drink any other brew for a week. This batch is much more volatile and will more than likely react with anything else. Stick to water; that's about the only safe thing." He looked over Lucius critically. "Now why don't you leave? I have a long, brat-filled day ahead of me tomorrow."

"Heavens forbid I stay then," Lucius replied starting for the fireplace. "Besides, I always thought teaching was a highly over-glorified profession."

"There's the fireplace. Disappear." Severus snarled and stalked off to his rooms.

Lucius watched the door close with a loud slam before he stood in the fireplace, with a handful of Floo powder. "Malfoy Manor!" he called out.

Severus' chambers disappeared with a burst of flames and he was hurtling along. Everything was going fine when everything lurched and he suddenly found himself racing along in another direction. Only when he was deposited out, he didn't find himself in the front foyer of his home. No, he found himself in a strange grey room, bare of anything else save for a chair and table sitting in a pool of light. And sitting right there on the table was a small vial with a clear liquid. Undoubtedly this room had anti-Apparation wards on it as well. Salazar, this was not good.

"How nice of you to join us Mr. Malfoy. Now, don't do anything rash or you will regret it."

He looked up to see Minister Fudge come walking out of the shadows, his assistant close behind him, quill just hovering over to the parchment. Off to his side he could see two figures materializing, wands aimed right at him. Two Aurors....one was Kingsley Shaklebolt, the other one...he had no clue, but she was a peculiar looking woman with bright purple and blue hair and odd light violet eyes.

"Keep a good eye on him. Weasley, if you would be so kind as to prepare Mr. Malfoy's seat."

That's why the face seemed so familiar; Percy Weasley had been hiding himself well behind the minister. Percy gave Fudge a resentful look but gave Lucius an even nastier one. He came around to the other side of the table and bowed a bit mockingly, making a sweeping gesture towards the chair with his hand. He rose from the fireplace, dusting himself off and walked over to the table, pulling out the seat and sitting down easily in it. His eyes rested on the vial for a moment. He couldn't take Veritaserum now; Merlin knew what would happen to him if he did. He had to stall for time somehow. But how was he going to stall Fudge, of all the incompetent idiots in the world, for one hour? It was highly likely he would hold out for half an hour, and that's if he was lucky.

"And what may I ask is the reason for infringing upon my rights and kidnapping me?" Lucius began calmly as he smoothed the wrinkles from his robe.

Fudge already looked blustered. "Look you; it's only a matter of time until we find something on you."

"Why Minister, I thought it was 'innocent until proven guilty'?" Lucius replied smoothly.

Fudge glared at him. "I'm the Minister; I don't need your attitude."

"You don't need my attitude, but you certainly needed my Galleons, didn't ?" Lucius didn't say anything for a moment, regarding the now slightly paling man. "Or does no one else in this room know of that besides you and me?"

"I have no clue what you're talking about!" Fudge snapped.

Judging from the curious looks on Weasley, Shaklebolt and Tonks' faces, they certainly didn't. Fudge didn't say anything for a long moment, pacing about the room. So far, this was going well. He could see the avid curiosity in Weasley's face while it was much more subdued in Tonks and Shaklebolt faces. The Minister finally stopped and turned to face Lucius.

"How dare you accuse me of taking bribes from you, of all people?" Fudge finally said.

Lucius arched an eyebrow. "Have you been living in denial since your ascension to power? Oh yes, I do remember how much you liked power Cornelius, how much it."

"Ludicrous!" Fudge spluttered as he rose and started pacing once more. "Besides, I brought you here to be questioned, not vice versa."

"Oh yes. Once this is done, I imagine you'll be hearing from my lawyer. He's quite...stringent upon matters such as this."

"The threat of a lawsuit doesn't scare me."

"Not yet. You have yet to deal with my lawyer."

"Aha!" Fudge crowed in triumph. "Threatening me and-"

"If you bothered to listen," Lucius said in mild annoyance. "I was simply predicting what my lawyer's reaction will be. Since he has had such...close and personal experiences in matters such as these, he will undoubtedly be more fearsome that an entire herd of Manticores on an unpleasant day."

Fudge snorted. "As you say Lucius. Now, if you'll just take some of this Veritaserum and answer my questions, we can all be on our merry way home to our beds."

"What kind of fool do you take me for?" Lucius was far from amused. "First you kidnap me and keep me here for no justified reason, legal or anything else for that matter and now you want me to voluntarily take Veritaserum so you can get whatever you want?" he snorted in disdain. "Then you're a bigger fool that I thought. If it weren't for me you wouldn't even be where you are today. I should end this now and tell them of your little-"

"Silencio!" Fudge snarled, aiming his wand at Lucius.

Lucius' mouth opened and shut in complete silence as Fudge's face went bright red. He motioned curtly to Shaklebolt and the other Auror, pushing his lime green bowler hat back on his head. Lucius started in his seat when he realized what they planned to do. Strong hands slammed him back into the seat while the woman picked up the vial and unscrewed the top. He pressed his lips tightly together and almost immediately fingers pinched down on his nose. Lucius thought wildly for a moment before he opened his mouth and allowed the woman to drip a few drops into his mouth. He swallowed it on his own and a few moments later Shaklebolt's hands left his shoulders. He had to answer Fudge's questions and get out of here as soon as possible before Merlin knew what happened.

"There, much better, right?" Fudge said nastily. "Now, what I want to know is where you disappeared to for three whole months."

Lucius simply looked at him as if he was a dolt. Fudge didn't quite seem to get it so he opened his mouth to speak to show Fudge's spell was still in place. It took Fudge a few minutes to catch on. Fudge muttered a curse under his breath before he said 'Finite Incantantum' just loudly enough to hear.

"Now, answer my question."

"That wasn't a question. Perhaps you need a lesson on the art of interrogation...Minister." He sneered.

He heard soft snickers coming from behind him, and Fudge glowered at him.

"Where were you for three months?"

"Spain." The reply was out of his mouth before he could really stop it.

"Did Voldemort send you there?"

"No."

That seemed to stump Fudge. "How did you end up there?"

"Don't know." He had an idea but it was for too vague to be called a truth.

"Were you alone?"

"Yes." At least that's the way he saw it before he started getting along with Harry.

"What took you so long to get back?"

"Had to work on a farm to get money and travel back." Lucius replied easily; that seemed to garner a few interested murmurs.

"Travel back? Why didn't you just Apparate?"

"You are daft," Lucius said in disgust. "Would you Apparate over an ocean to somewhere that's a good 1000 miles away? I certainly wouldn't want to try it, much less attempt it."

"And why didn't you use magic?"

"I know you have Aurors after me, and you would have used the slightest reason to haul me in here," Lucius said a bit pointedly. "I decided it would be in my better interest to simply lay low for a bit and then make my way back. And that, as with anything, costs money."

Fudge didn't say anything for a moment. "Rumour has it that Harry Potter came back at roughly the same time as you did. Did you see him in Spain?"

"It was only for a moment," Lucius said. Compared to three months, that day in the bathroom had been like a moment. That was when he had seen the real Harry. "But considering everyone where I was had black hair and is tanned, it very easily could have been my imagination."

"How do you know Harry's tanned?" Fudge asked suspiciously.

Lucius rolled his eyes. "The boy plays Quidditch. I have seen a few games at Hogwarts. He's the Gryffindor Seeker. Considering the substantial amount of time spent outside for Quidditch, it is very likely to assume he does have a tan. Are you quite sure you know how Quidditch is played? Or would you like an explanation of that as well?"

Much more audible snickers came from behind him. Fudge's glared nastily and they subsided before he turned his attention back to Lucius. "And how did you end up back here?"

"Portkey."

"Who gave you the Portkey?" Fudge's voice quivered as if he sensed a victory.

Lucius had to pause and think. It was dark and all those masks mad him unsure of who was who.

"I asked you, who gave you the Portkey." Fudge asked in an irritated voice. "What's so hard to answer about that?"

"It was dark and I don't know for sure who it was," Lucius paused once more. "But I believe it was Severus Snape."

"Snape?" Fudge sounded as if he was burned by a hot coal.

Lucius was getting very annoyed. "Se-ver-us S-na-pe. Need I spell it out for you any more?"

"How did he know to find you?" Fudge asked.

"To be honest, I have no clue." Lucius replied easily, even though his stomach was starting to feel a bit floppy.

Fudge didn't say anything for a moment. "Were there Muggles on the farm?"

"Yes."

"And are they still there?"

"No."

"What happened to them?"

"They were taken away."

"How do you know that?" Fudge asked again.

"I made it a point to know." Lucius said, ignoring the rather painful manner in which his guts decided to be twisting upon themselves.

"You? To know Muggles?" Fudge laughed.

"Contrary to popular belief," Lucius began coldly. "I'm not overly fond of stupidity, not because someone does or doesn't have the ability to do magic. And, in case you haven't noticed, a rather large percentile Muggles tend to be bigoted idiots. And as I don't like dealing with stupidity much less a narrow-minded view, it's much easier to have them think I am a bigot than to try and reason with them."

"Wait a moment," the woman said. "You tolerate Muggles but would have them think you're a bigot? That makes no sense Malfoy."

"So, someone else sees the hypocrisy," Lucius murmured. "But no one said the world was a sensible place or that people did sensible things to protect themselves, Miss..."

"Tonks." She said in a bemused voice.

"Miss Tonks." Lucius finished. "Is this all?" he asked, looking back at Fudge.

Fudge looked as if he was swallowing something very bitter and very tough. "Yes," he said gruffly. "Take down the anti-Apparation wards." He said.

Shaklebolt raised his wand and murmured something Lucius couldn't quite hear. There was a sharp breaking sound before the silence came back for a moment.

"You're free to go." Fudge said sullenly.

Lucius didn't say anything for a moment. "Be sure that you'll be hearing from my lawyer."

Fudge paused for a moment. "Who is your lawyer anyways?"

"Valerian Slean Nihilare."

The horrified silence from Fudge would have been fairly enjoyable if Lucius hadn't been feeling rather ill at the moment. He rose from his seat, his stomach protesting violently and his head swimming slightly. He closed his eyes and when he opened them once more, everything was stationary.

"Pfft," Fudge said after a moment. "I'm not scared of a lawsuit coming from him."

"I believe some of his experiences came from when you were junior minister once yourself and from Dolores Umbridge. He may find this to be something of a personal challenge. You would do well to fear him; his wrath is quite fearsome when it is awoken."

Fudge didn't look all that happy when Lucius Apparated from the room. The wards of his home slid over him as he appeared in the front hallway. His stomach seemed to be quite intent on tearing itself out from his body, along with the rest of his viscera. He clutched a hand to his abdomen as he made his way up to his study, grateful to not have Narcissa flitting around him like some bothersome insect with some trivial worry. He made it into his study. The pain was intensifying and spreading outwards at a rather alarming rate. All he could manage to do was scrawl out two words, call his owl over and instruct it to take it to Severus. He watched the owl winging off into the night sky before his eyes rolled right into his head and he collapsed on the rug.

* * *


	9. Chapter 9

_**A/N**_: Goodness me! Finally managed to get my hands on a computer. My other computer is still out - I'm waiting for word on a part for an Intel 2000 motherboard part that only costs 10 $. If they can't find it - damn discontinuation - I gotta cough out 300 for an upgrade. Now that sucks. Between that, worrying about tuition, OSAP and getting a job, I actually looked forward to writing this chapter. Barring the part where I must deal with QuickEdit.

Anyhow, I said I would last time and here it is! Replies to reviews! Yay! Finally! I moved my lazy, procrastinistic butt! This is so long overdue. lol

**_Signeus_**: .o Ouch. Hope your neck is better. That's one of the things. I am contemplating writing something of a mirror fic for Chapter 7, going into detail of just what happened in Dumbledore's office. Contemplating, not for sure though.

**_SiLvErFaTeD_**: Glad you liked it.

**_xikum_**: Updated and continuing on! Tally ho! Erm, that's the Coke. I don't (and can't) quite answer any of your questions regarding Snape's behaviour at the moment. It will be explained later on, believe me. What happens to Valencia is not found out until a later chapter. But you will find out. I rather liked her too. In no way could I kill her off, but she sure is one stubborn lady. The 2 day thing will be explained as well; it certainly was risky, but a necessary, calculated risk. Fudge, in my personal opinion, is an idiot. And at during such a time in the country, he'll do whatever it takes to get his job done, even if it is by rather questionable means. It's rather interesting how information during a war has the curious ability to appear, disappear or materialize right out of nothingness to conveniently back up a particular government stance on an issue. Percy's reactions will be explained as well, don't worry.

**_Jazzylady_**: Updated on my site. As well, I've posted this fic at www. foreverfandom . com. They allow NC-17, so it is posted in its entirety there as well, completely uncut (I love that word). Same penname if you care to check it out. I've also started writing some Harry/Draco ficlets as well.

**_Plastraa_**: Well (and this is where I am in danger of sounding like Dumbledore), the mind is a very curious thing. But yes, good good loving happened in Chapter 8. the next update should be in a few days. I'm hoping to post two more chapters before I go back to my mom's computerless house. I'd do this at my friend's house, but he keeps reading over my shoulder and it drives me nuts. Besides, if he read half of my rough stuff, he'd want me to write smut for him.

**_Mistress Malfoy_**: Glad you like it.

**_Shinigami Liliz Black_**: Yes, Ernesto responded surprisingly well. Alcohol in the right amount, has a cushioning effect. I'm debating writing something of a mirror fic that would show just what happened in Dumbledore's office. Could happen, might not.

**_LusikiThanatos_**: Hope you liked Chapter 8 and I hope you enjoy Chapter 9. Nah, why would I be mad if you didn't review? Reviews are nice but they're not the reason why I'm writing this fic. I've gone to places where there's no accessible computer in a 100 km radius. Some of the best days in the summer. Hope you didn't have to look after some little terrors. Anyway, what exactly happened to Valencia, isn't found out for a few more chapters. And if someone saves her... well, read to find out.

**_Soft Willow_**: Updated!

**_Bookworm_**: Oh yes, yes, yes. But just what happens to Valencia and what Voldemort may know will be addressed in another chapter. I'm terribly sorry about the formatting; I only had time to post and not see if it turned out right. QuickEditis supposed to be quick; it's _not_ bloody quick at all. Since I actually have a spot of time, I'm planning on going back and using and instead of the slashes.

**_Rachel_**: Glad you're enjoying it. I didn't use quotation marks for the Spanish because I didn't want it confused with the English and add unnecessary words. Plus, I found it helped the dialogue to flow easier. However, automatically removed the slashes I was using in place of that, so it just looks like plain text. I'll be going through the chapters to see what needs editing and be using and from now on. Sorry for any confusion that caused you.

**_Lucius sikilmituile_**: Man, I'm still surprised at how much people like this fic. Next chapters should be coming out really soon, in the next few days.

**_Siren of the Darknessflame_**: Updated!

* * *

**_Come the Maëlstrom_**

_Chapter Nine_

Harry was in an extraordinarily good mood this morning. He had been for the past two days. Ernesto was thoroughly puzzled by it. Happy that he was less irritable but thoroughly puzzled. He was just as puzzled by what appeared to be Harry's sudden tender arse and the way he sat on cushions on the couch and at the dinner table. Not to mention that fact that he had a definite swagger to his walk or the goofy grin that accompanied his replies for a day. Harry almost wanted to tell him but they were in Hogwarts; things always seemed to have a way of getting back to the Headmaster. The less Dumbledore knew the better. And that was why he had asked Ernesto to not refer to Lucius by his real name, as Moody said, constant vigilance. Although, Dumbledore seemed rightly wary of Ernesto; he had torn a rather large strip off the Headmaster in a very audible fashion. The other Order members that had been in the room at time were gawking in total shock, more than likely because they had never seen anyone yell at Dumbledore so.

While it had been rather loud and a bit hard on his ears, he had been hard pressed to not smile somewhat. It was somewhat comforting to have someone who was quite able to let him be on his own rise up and rip someone to shreds for him. Mrs. Weasley would have simply coddled him the entire time, not listened to a single word he said and insist that she knew what was best for him. Once Ernesto found out that Harry was all right, he simply left him be; it was as simple as that. Plus he listened when Harry raised an objection and didn't question it endlessly. It was that carefree and easy trust that he valued from Ernesto.

And that was why he had asked if the older man wanted to have breakfast with him in the Great Hall today. Ernesto had declined, preferring the quiet of Harry's room as to what he had seen as a large echoing room of voices. In retrospect, that was a fairly correct assumption on his part. Voices did tend to echo slightly in the Great Hall if they were loud enough. Even now there was a murmur from the teacher's table up at the front of the room. He glanced up to find a few of the teachers looking at him curiously. Remus was the only one who was giving him a grin, probably from relief of not having Hermione pester him anymore. Snape was, thankfully, absent. If he was gone long enough, Harry didn't have to invite him for tea. Harry grinned back and turned his attention back to his breakfast.

There were a few students here as well, some pointing at him and whispering, while others just stared. At this point, he couldn't really care less. He was hungry. He had just put some bacon in between two pieces of toast when the doors opened. He looked up to see a rather solid wall of black robes with scarlet and gold crests and ties. The resounding cry of, 'Harry!' filled his ears and the next thing he knew, he was surrounded by a large press of people, his bacon sandwich mysteriously vanished from his hand. He looked around in confusion, trying to figure out where to start first.

Thankfully, Ron seemed to grasp this easily enough. "Oi!" He yelled as he clambered up onto the bench. "Pipe down! Sit down! Be quiet and one question at a time! Harry can't talk if you all badger him at once!"

That seemed to shake some sense into people and they started making their way to sit down. Hermione popped through the crowd and pushed aside a third year girl who was making googly eyes at Harry. Ron came over and pushed aside another third year girl, telling her it was his right as Harry's best friend to have the seat beside him when she started to protest. At the moment, Harry couldn't have been gladder to have Ron and Hermione there. He probably would have been drowning under the press of people. Though, he had to admit, he had never seen so many people pressed together in one spot. Everyone was trying to get as close to Harry as possible. He could quite literally see the barely restrained questions on their tongues.

"All right," Hermione began after a moment. "Let's have one question at a time. And if you have a question make sure it's not one that has already been asked but worded differently. We don't want Harry losing his voice from talking too much."

There was a chorus of agreement at Hermione's words. But the murmur had barely died down before Seamus had blurted out the first question.

"What happened? All we heard," the look in Seamus' eyes made it quite clear that he meant he had seen it himself. "Is that you had disappeared."

Harry shrugged, scratching the back of his head. "I honestly don't know what happened. I was there, and then I fired a curse at someone and something went wrong. Next thing I knew, I was somewhere else."

"Yes, but where did you end up?" Lavender asked as best she could, wedged between Seamus and Dean.

"Spain." Harry replied easily as he made himself another bacon sandwich.

That earned a flurry of excited whisperings from the girls before Dean roared at them all to be quiet so Harry could talk.

"What part of Spain?' Dean asked.

"Yeah, can you speak Spanish?" Padma asked immediately in an eager voice.

Harry paused as he took in Dean and Padma's question. I was in Extremadura; it was and beautiful, especially at night, he said with a faint smile as he remembered the river. And yes I can speak Spanish.

Padma giggled ecstatically along with a whole bunch of other girls. Harry could see the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws making their way over to hear. The Slytherins seemed to be the only one not bothered or interested and that suited him just fine. Dean cleared his throat loudly before speaking again.

"So that's a yes?"

"Yes." Harry said with a grin.

Seamus snickered while Dean shook his head. Harry quickly made another sandwich and was just about to take a bite of his sandwich when Colin jumped in.

"I heard a rumour that Lucius Malfoy was down there as well. Is that true?"

Harry watched Colin for a moment. The boy was clutching his camera tightly in his hands. He should have known something like this would come up. How some things circulated around the school, or found out, Harry would never know.

He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Well, I thought I saw him. I mean, he's blond and practically everyone where I was had brown or black hair. And they were smiling and very friendly, so him and his usual scowl and sarcasm would have stuck out like a sore thumb."

That earned quite a few chuckles all around. Harry hoped that was the end of _that_ particular subject.

"So what exactly did you do down there?" Ginny asked, peering over Padma's head.

"Worked on a farm while I figured out what to do." He said simply going for a bite of his sandwich.

"And what was that?"

Harry put his sandwich down at the sound of Zacharias Smith's voice. He couldn't see him, but he could hear him "As I'm back, I think that's rather obvious, isn't it?"

Zacharias squeezed his way through the crowd. "You mean to tell me you didn't once think of staying down there and vanishing away into obscurity?"

"I did; if only to be free of you and your mostly silly questions," Harry replied. "Seriously, why are you so cynical? Get a grip on yourself..."

Zacharias went bright red at that as everyone snickered with laughter. At least that threw them off for a bit. Harry took the moment to wolf down a bit of his sandwich before Neville asked the next question.

"So just how did you get back Harry?"

Harry deliberately chewed his food before swallowing it. They didn't need to know about the whole fight in the attic. He swallowed and took a drink of pumpkin juice before replying. "I don't know how exactly, it was really confusing, but I got a Portkey and I ended up in Dumbledore's office."

Everyone stared at him for a moment before Seamus chuckled. "Really Harry, how did you get back?"

"That's how," he said. "I don't know how exactly or why. All I know is I touched the Remembrall and next thing I knew I was back in Dumbledore's office."

"You mean, Dumbledore got you back?" Ginny tried.

"I'm guessing so." Harry replied. "I grabbed the Remembrall and..."

"Wait a minute!" Neville exclaimed. "That must have been my Remembrall!"

That seemed to fuel enough conversations and speculation for a bit and left Harry free to eat for a little bit in peace and leave Ron just enough time to whisper a hurried, 'We need to talk later. DA stuff' in his ear and him to reply 'Midnight?'. Ron nodded his head slightly and the questions started up again a few minutes later and Harry found himself answering more and more. Finally, he stood up and excusing himself. Everyone started to protest but Harry told them that he needed to get going and that he'd come by the common room later. He had practice with Moody in about 10 minutes and he needed to go up to the seventh floor today. Moody didn't say why but obviously he had something planned; undoubtedly with aerial attacks or the like; just Harry's luck.

"Phew... didn't think they'd ever stop." He breathed in relief as the door behind him closed shut and he closed his eyes.

"What? Hero doesn't like the attention?"

He opened his eyes to find Draco standing a few feet away from him, arms crossed and a scowl on his face.

"I've got somewhere else I've need to be at the moment." Harry said easily as he pushed himself off from the door and started walking towards the staircase.

"Typical Potter," Draco sneered, heading for the door.

Harry didn't say anything for a moment before he looked around. "Have a good breakfast," he paused, unable to resist the momentary urge. "Duckie."

Draco's head whipped around at that, eyes narrowed malevolently. "Oh, did buck-toothed Granger tell you? Or was it the raggedy Weasel?"

Harry turned around and regarded Draco for a moment. He could keep playing this game with Draco. But he was getting kind of tired of it. Seven years of animosity wouldn't be buried overnight but he was sick of trying to insult Draco or the like. There was only so much a person could take after awhile and it all seemed so... idiotic now that he looked at it. He was throwing in the proverbial towel.

"You know," he began in a weary voice. "It's no small wonder why you only have Crabbe and Goyle as your friends."

Draco didn't say anything, simply glaring at him.

"Honestly, I'm sick and tired of this between us Draco."

Draco looked like he'd been slapped hard in the face a few times. "Wh- What?"

"You heard me. The games and everything... it was fun while it lasted but honestly... I'm ready to move on and leave it behind me."

"What?" Draco shrieked. "You can't do this to me! If anything, I'm supposed to do this to you! It's not supposed to be this way!"

Harry paused for a moment in surprise. "Things change Draco and-" he began.

Harry was completely unprepared for the fist that connected with his face. The fleeting thought of irony passed through his mind as he noted it was roughly in the same spot as the hidden scar left by Lucius' ring. Harry thought he heard the door creak open, but he wasn't sure. He was too busy prodding his injured face gently with a finger. That would definitely bruise later on. Draco was glaring at him still, furious rage in his grey eyes, fists clenched and trembling. Harry couldn't help but notice all of this as Draco was so close to him.

"What do you want from me now Draco?" Harry asked quietly as he let his hand fall away from his face.

"I don't know now!" Draco snarled. "Punch me back, insult me, insult my father, insult my mother, I don't care at this point! Just bloody well do something that you normally do! Don't you bloody well dare end this!"

Harry watched Draco for a long moment before he shook his head. "Sorry Draco. It's been fun... in a twisted, perverse sort of way for the past seven years, but it's over now." Harry walked past Draco and up a few stairs when Draco spoke again.

"Potter! You can't do this!" Draco ground out.

"I can Draco. Just because you want it to keep on, doesn't mean I have to cater to your whims. Consider it over as of today."

There was a shocked gasp and Harry looked back to see a whole crowd of people standing at the doorway of the Great Hall, looking between him and Draco. Harry didn't say anything after a moment, continuing up the stairs silently. Wonderful, everyone now probably thought he and Draco had an illicit affair and Harry had just broken up with him. By the time he got to the classroom, he was 5 minutes late and facing a rather peeved Moody.

"What took you so long?" Moody said gruffly. "I let you start later because you asked me and you were making good progress."

"Got held up." Harry said, wincing at the slight pain from his lower jaw.

Moody's eyes darted to Harry's face for a moment but he didn't comment on it. "Fine then. Make sure it doesn't happen again. Now then, today we'll be dealing with advanced aerial attacks. Got us a good room today too; lots of windows and the like. I tried getting the top of the astronomy tower, but they're doing something or the like, so this will have to do. So, let's get started, and remember, constant vigilance! Should be your daily mantra..."

Harry nodded his head and took his wand out, feeling peculiarly puzzled. Just why _had_ Draco reacted that way?

* * *

- Aren't you hungry Harry? - 

Harry looked up from his plate, startled by Ernesto's words. - Hm? No, not really. Thinking... - he continued pushing around his scalloped potatoes.

Ernesto glanced at Harry for a moment. - Him? -

- No, - Harry said. - Something else. -

- Or someone else? - Ernesto asked, poking at his chicken. - Who made this again... those little... creatures, right? -

- House elves. They usually knock themselves out silly when they have to look after people. - Harry said. - And yeah, it's someone else. -

- What? - Ernesto's fork stopped moving. - Don't tell me you like someone else! -

- What?! - Harry looked up at him in surprised. - No, no. That's not it at all. Honestly. It's just that he's just so weird... -

- Did something happen during breakfast, Harry? - Ernesto asked before taking a sip of pumpkin juice. - Hm, this stuff really isn't half bad... - he commented to himself before taking another sip.

- Kinda...it was really after I was done eating breakfast and I was going up for my lesson with Professor Moody. -

- All right, - Ernesto nodded. - Some ex-boyfriend of yours caused some big scene? -

- Scratch out ex-boyfriend and that's pretty much what happened, - Harry sighed. - But the way it sounded and from the way he acted, everyone's going to think we had some sort of secret affair. -

Ernesto gave a chuckle and a low whistle. - No wonder. That's not so bad though. You said this is your last year here, right? -

- Right. And it wouldn't be such a big deal if he and I hadn't hated each other from day one. It's pretty much legendary how much we hated one another. Well, used to. -

- Well, what changed? - Ernesto asked.

Harry shrugged. - I don't know. But we started doing our usual thing... and then I was looking at him... - he trailed off for a moment. - I couldn't really find it in me to insult him any more. It suddenly seemed so childish and petty compared to some other things, you know? I just couldn't. -

Ernesto nodded his head and continued eating, with a thoughtful look on his face. - It sounds to me like you should talk to him. - He began.

- Draco just freaked out; nothing else. - Harry replied with a shrug.

- No, - Ernesto said slowly as he tapped his fork against the plate. - I think you should go talk to him. -

Harry chuckled in faint amusement. - I don't want another one of these thank you. - He gestured vaguely to his bruised jaw.

- You know, you may be surprised if you take the time. - Ernesto paused for a long moment. - Let him rage and storm. Then talk it out. -

- If you think I'm going down into the very heart of Slytherin territory to talk to Draco of all people, then you've got another thing coming. - Harry said.

- Yeah, I don't blame you; that place is creepy, - Ernesto admitted. - But look at it this way. You two have been enemies for how long? -

- 7 years. - Harry replied.

- Exactly. Draco looks like one miserable kid. You two have been enemies for so long and then you went and took that away from him. Maybe he needed it somehow. -

- Miserable? - Harry gawked at him. - Draco doesn't have a miserable bone in his body! -

Ernesto paused for a moment, brow furrowed in thought. - Sounds like you still see him as if you met him for the first time. Get over it. Now, it's great that you did something to try and end the hate but he's still a person. He's got ...whatchamacall it. -

- 'Whatchamacallit'? - Harry asked a puzzled voice.

- You know... - Ernesto paused for a long moment. - Feelings! That's it. Lord, I am horrible at this stuff. -

- You got the point across, didn't you? - Harry chuckled softly.

Silence came as they both started eating, keeping their eyes fixed on their plates.

- At least give it one try, will you? - Ernesto asked quietly.

Harry simply grunted in reply, picking at his dinner.

* * *

Ernesto was good Harry had to give him that. Otherwise there was no way he would be doing this right now. It wasn't manipulation; Ernesto may have put it rather baldly but it was still a perceptive and accurate judgement. He hadn't thought Ernesto would be capable of something so decidedly sneaky; hell, he'd referred to feelings as 'whatchamacallit' and had trouble talking to Lucius about protection and safe sex; looks were very deceiving. 

"He could have been a psychologist instead of a farmer." He groused under his breath.

As he turned a corner, he stubbed his toe, biting his lip hard to muffle a curse. He was walking through the hallways at eleven at night, under his Invisibility Cloak, peering at the Marauder's Map by the moonlight streaming in from a nearby window. All of this headache for the express purpose of finding Draco. If anyone had told him that this is how he would have been spending his night, he would have asked if all their wits were still about them. So far, he'd been wandering about for the past hour and there was still no sign of Draco.

"Damn it, I have to meet 'Mione and Ron at twelve!" Harry cursed under his breath. "Just sneak out already! I know you're gon- aha!"

A small dot had appeared on the map, labelled 'Draco Malfoy'. Harry walked along slowly until the dot came to a stop. Of course, the library wasn't the place that Harry had thought it would stop at. But the library was the perfect place to sneak off to if you wanted some time alone after curfew; practically no one went in there unless they had to. He tapped the map with a 'Mischief managed!', rolled it up and tucked it into his pocket before starting for the library. It hadn't taken him long to get there and thankfully, he hadn't run into Mrs. Norris. The door to the silent room opened with a barely audible creak. It hadn't struck Harry before but there was something decidedly creepy about this library at night. It seemed to lose its vitality and all that remained was a dead husk.

"Draco?" he called out hesitantly.

His voice seemed abnormally loud and he half expected Madame Pince to materialize out of nowhere and start berating him as to why one did not sneak into the library at night. The only sound he got in response was that of a muffled curse and someone getting to their feet. A few minutes later Draco appeared between two bookshelves, leaning against the side lightly.

"What do you want?" he demanded in a cold voice. "Come to act all high and mighty again?"

Harry shook his head. "No. I came to talk to you."

"I think you did all your talking already, Hero," Draco sneered as he turned to leave.

"I know," Harry said slowly. "Someone said I should talk to you... unfortunately, they were right."

"Oh, how kind," Draco said in exasperated sarcasm. "Now I'm your little charity case for pity. And just what could they have possibly said to make you seek me out?"

Harry didn't say anything for a long moment. "Essentially that my view of you is... one-sided and faulted." He paused as Draco gave a sardonic snort at that. "They also said they were miserable."

Draco's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Then they're a bigger fool that you think Potter. Now why don't you go run off and save something with gory messy heroics, hm? I'm sure everyone will be thrilled and dote on you."

"Yeah, doting, just what I need," Harry grumbled. "More of that."

"What's wrong? Trouble in paradise?" Draco asked mockingly. "Everyone coddles you, everyone adores you, you can never screw up and you always get exactly what you want."

Harry felt the immediate cold grip of rage clench around him. "You think my life is fun and games Malfoy?" he spat out spitefully. "How about you take it then, because I sure as hell don't want it."

"Nice front you put up there-"

Draco stopped talking as Harry slammed his hand flat against the wood beside his head with a resounding bang.

"You coddled little brat," Harry said quietly after a moment. "Do you want to know what my life's really like? Every one watches me, every one always tries to decide what's best for me. I set one foot outside Hogwarts and... that hellhole of a house and someone is always hounding me. I can't live my own fucking life Malfoy. You try living with Muggles that fear magic and refuse to let you do so much as touch a textbook on any subject and make you..." he paused for a moment, getting a grip on himself. "You try living with Voldemort crawling around inside your head making you see sick, twisted things every time you try to sleep for months on end. You try living with that twisted deluded fuck rampaging through your head, making you think you're slowly going insane. Or maybe you'd like the fact that you _know_ he's saving the Dementors just for you because of all the shit in your past..." he took a steadying breath. "Go on, take my life. But you can sure as hell keep it because I won't take it back."

Draco didn't say anything for a moment, glaring at Harry for a long moment. "What, you think my life's all that too? You're not the only one with a shitty life Potter. Get over your own damned self."

"I can just imagine," Harry said coldly. "Designer robes not filling the hole in that place you call a heart?"

Harry was half expecting the blow to his face. He caught Malfoy's wrist, staring him hard in the eyes.

"You try living with an eternally distant father," Draco finally said after a few moments. "And a manipulative mother who's hell-bent on leaving your father and taking every single penny he has; a mother that isn't above blackmailing her own son to get her way in addition to a wide assortment of...things. You try living with completely conflicting requests from every one around you, while trying to survive in Slytherin. In case you haven't noticed, being 'nice' isn't exactly an option there; being 'nice' can leave you on the fringes and subject to...things. You try to keep off the others who try to get you to join You-Know-Who's cause; you think they're all in Slytherin...they're everywhere Potter; they just using Slytherin in the school as a smokescreen. There's a lot in Ravenclaw and few from Hufflepuff and Gryffindor."

"Liar," Harry hissed, his ear shifting as he heard a noise coming from the door.

"Don't like the truth, Potter?" Draco sneered, jabbing him pointedly in the shoulder. "You wouldn't last one day in Slytherin. Now try going through all of that shit in the course of four months. You wouldn't be too happy either. You were the one fucking thing in my life that wasn't supposed to change at all! I hate you and you hate me! That's the way it's supposed to work! You're not supposed to take the high road and-"

Harry glanced back at the door before pushing Draco back between the bookshelves, following after him. Draco overbalanced and fell with a hard thud before he opened his mouth to start yelling at him when Harry shook his head ominously. And as if to further validate Harry, hoarse words echoed gently through the library.

"Heard something in here, did you my sweet? Well, I just heard something too..."

'_Fuck! Filch!_' Draco mouthed as he scrambled up.

Harry caught Draco's arm, his Invisibility Cloak half draped around him already. Draco glanced back reluctantly in the direction in which he could hear Filch's footsteps coming from before he ducked under the Cloak and Harry swirled it shut to hide them both..

"No groping me." he said under his breath.

Harry shot him a nasty look but didn't say anything as Filch's grizzled face appeared, oddly luminous from the lamp in his hand. Filch's watery looking eyes darted around, while Mrs. Norris mewed in confusion.

"Must have been Peeves. Come, there're other troublemakers afoot," Filch said after a few minutes.

Harry held his breath as Mrs. Norris sat there a bit longer, staring directly at them. After what seemed like forever, she rose and padded away after Filch. It wasn't until long after they heard the door close that Harry breathed a sigh of relief, swirling the cloak off them.

"What do you mean grope you?!" he spluttered. "I wouldn't grope you if Voldemort had a wand to my head and threatened to kill me! And that's after a few rousing rounds of torture and the Cruciatus!"

"Come on, I've seen you looking at me from across the tables, Potter. Especially this morning." Draco said with a self-assured air.

Harry snorted. "Or I was looking at that dark-haired Slytherin you sit beside. Namely one Blaise Zabini." He'd just managed to actually resolve something between him and Draco. Saying that he was thinking of Lucius would undoubtedly destroy everything and set it back to an irreparable state.

Draco looked horribly affronted. "Him?!"

"Yeah," Harry said as he draped his cloak. "What?"

"Since when were you a ponce?"

Harry stared at Draco for a moment. "I heard rumours that there was someone who didn't know. Guess I know who _that_ is."

Draco snorted as he walked back out into the main walkway. Harry followed after him and found that he was looking at the end of the bookshelf curiously. Oh yeah, they had been busy yelling at one another. Harry glanced over at Draco for a moment, meeting his eyes before looking back at the simple wood end, mulling over what Draco had said. No doubt Draco was thinking over what Harry had told him.

"So, neither of us knows anything remotely normal." Draco said after a few minutes.

"And I doubt we ever will." Harry didn't say anything for a bit. "Did we just have a moment?"

"Morgana, I hope not. Why on Earth would I want to have one of those with you?" Draco sneered as he slipped a hand into his pocket and made his way to the door.

"Likewise," Harry said as he headed for the exit as well. "That could lead to worse things... like getting along."

"And we all know where that could lead..." Draco trailed off.

"Friendship. Merlin forbid..." Harry finished off. He paused at the door. "You know, if anything, I owe you for this."

Draco's eyes flitted to Harry's jaw for a moment. "So? Just what are you gonna do abo-"

Draco's word disappeared as Harry's fist connected with the paler boy's cheek.

"Bloody hell!" Draco hissed as he held a hand to his face hard. "When the hell did you learn to punch so damned hard?!"

"Somewhere," Harry said vaguely as he settled the cloak around his shoulder. "I think we're even now. If you do want to start over properly, I can't say that I'd be against the idea."

And with that, he slipped his cloak over his head and made disappeared from the library. At least he'd be a bit early for once.

* * *

"Harry!" Hermione shrieked. "This is important!" 

"Hm?" he looked up from Advanced Jinxes for the Inept, trying to not look too startled. "What is?"

"Yeah, I'd like to know as well." Ron added as he looked up from a copy of Hermione's old DADA notes.

Hermione sighed threw up her hands. They had been in the Room of Requirement for about an hour now, revising an intensive two-week curriculum for DA students. Once sixth year had rolled around and Dumbledore was back as Headmaster, the club had been whole-heartedly approved and swelled to include a surprising number of students. The original terms of the club were maintained and entrance wasn't as selective. The three of them still ran it but had at least ten others to help them handle the sheer amount of people, set up on a rotational basis. Curriculum content was left in Hermione's overly capable hands. Although Harry thought that the Ravenclaws didn't dare suggest they do it as Hermione had given them rather murderous glares when one had started to speak.

"Harry!" Hermione snapped again. "Honestly, why do I even bother!" she sighed heavily a moment later.

"Sorry," he said flushing a slight red. "You were saying."

"I _was_ saying," she began pointedly. "It's probably a good idea that we should open this only to the students that haven't joined the DA yet; that's still quite a significant number. I just can't figure out why they weren't interested before.

"I'll bet they are now." Ron added darkly.

Hermione nodded her head in resigned agreement. "Besides, you saw how many unprepared students snuck out to fight; it was –"

"Appalling." Ron said.

"Precisely. But we still have to make sure that we aren't just training people who will end up attempting to kill us."

Harry nodded his head as Draco's words ran through his mind. If Death Eater wannabes were in practically every house, they had more than likely failed in that regard.

"So basically, we teach the ones that aren't banged up and stayed inside cowering?" Ron asked.

"In a manner of speaking," Hermione said delicately in a displeased voice.

"We'll still need the others to cover them all properly."

"In two weeks though?" Harry rubbed his forehead. "It took us awhile to even get the basics of some things. Granted there was heavier emphasis on general wand movement and such a good while before the attack –"

"And that is precisely why it won't take as long," Hermione said firmly. "All we have to focus on is the actually spell, jinx, curse or whatever. Flitwick has done a marvellous job of teaching correct wand movement and improving the sloppy ones." She glanced at Ron.

"Oi! You fixed that for me long before Flitwick did!" he protested with a grin.

"Anyway, as we will be teaching completely fresh, we should have a particular emphasis on the Patronus charm, defensive and offensive spells and a few nasty hexs, curses and jinxes. We all know that Voldemort has the Dementors on his side now; only he hasn't used them yet. When he gets desperate enough –"

"Something wrong, mate?" Ron asked, peering at Harry.

Harry looked up to find both Ron and Hermione staring at him. He was still rubbing his forehead absently.

"Is something wrong Harry?" Hermione asked quietly.

"No, I'm fine." He lied, snatching his hand away.

"Aw, come on Harry," Ron groaned. "You really have to stop doing that."

"Ron's right. I know you don't want to worry us but you were rubbing your scar without realizing it."

Harry cursed mentally; that's what he got for zoning out like that.

"Was it You-Know-Who?" Ron asked in a quiet voice.

"No. Yes." Harry said in a rush, confusing himself. "I don't know."

"Think for a moment Harry. It will come to you." Hermione said quietly.

Harry sagged against his seat, hand returning to rub his forehead absently. Zoning out used to be a very dangerous thing for him to do; it allowed Voldemort right inside his head. But since he had, thankfully, managed to master Occlumeny under Snape's tutelage it never occurred again. His defences were unconsciously maintained now but he could sometimes feel some faint detached emotion that he supposed was Voldemort's. Taking a deep breath, he allowed his defences to drop for a moment.

In that one moment he was lashed with white-hot rage. It struck hard and fast, startling him out of his seat to spill to the floor. He winced and pressed his palm to his scar, immediately raising the barriers in his mind once more. It stemmed the flow but now he could feel it lashing against them, as if seeking to possess him. Ron and Hermione were beside him in a moment, helping to sit back up.

"What was it Harry?" Ron and Hermione both asked at the same time.

He stumbled for words. "Voldemort... furious... Dumbledore... MacNair..." he was having trouble making sense of the chaotic words and images that had assaulted him like a vortex.

"Dumbledore?!" Hermione said sharply. "Ron can you –"

"On it!" Ron replied.

Harry watched as Ron's magical eye swivelled up and away to the back of his head. It was quite nauseating to see. It was a good thing there wasn't much of dinner left in his stomach, otherwise he would have brought it all back up.

"There's some sort of commotion in Dumbledore's office." Ron frowned as if concentrating. "There's someone in there and they look like hell. They're bringing them down now." His brow furrowed once more. "Bloody hell, get out of the way Snape," he mumbled. "They're clutching... it looks like a spoon."

"Clutching a spoon?" Harry mumbled. "Why would they..."

He sat up stiffly. It was two days later, just what Lucius had said. He scrambled from the chair suddenly, bolting from the room with his Invisibility Cloak forgotten with Ron running right after him and Hermione attempting to stuff everything in her bookbag while following them. By the time he reached his quarters, he found Dumbledore and Snape standing outside it attempting to get inside.

"I'm telling you that Harry is –" Bucephalus began.

"Open!" Harry bellowed, startling both Dumbledore and Snape.

Bucephalus swung open immediately. He ran right past them, looking around the parlour before bursting into his bedroom. Ernesto gave a small squeak of surprise from the window.

- Sorry! I just wanted to look outside and – - his words were cut off as Harry bound forward, seized his hand and started dragging him behind him.

Snape and Dumbledore were in the hallway when he came back out as were Ron and Hermione while Ernesto was struggling.

- Wait one moment! - he dug his heels in. - Just what the Devil is going on?! I want some Goddamned answers! Now! -

- She's here. - Harry said simply.

Ernesto didn't say anything for a moment. - Here? -

- That's what they, - he jabbed his thumb at Dumbledore and Snape. - Were here to tell us. Only my friends, - he gestured to Ron and Hermione. - Told me first. -

"Valencia?" he asked haltingly, looking between Dumbledore and Snape.

Dumbledore nodded his head gravely and gestured to the door. Ernesto was out of it before anyone could really say anything. Dumbledore followed after him, leaving Harry, Snape, Hermione and Ron alone. What surprised him was that Hermione and Snape were pointedly not looking at one another. Hermione was able to meet Snape's gaze before. He looked at Ron in puzzlement before Snape spoke.

"You two, leave. And you Potter, are you just going to dither there like a simpleton or are you not going, you heartless creature?"

Harry scowled slightly at Snape while Ron and Hermione gave him an apologetic look and quickly made themselves scarce. "That's a bit rich coming from the likes of you."

Snape glared at him for a long moment but didn't dock points or say something nasty. He simply motioned curtly and started walking. Harry left the room and quickly overtook him. He didn't bother to see if Snape was coming to the infirmary and he didn't really care. But if Valencia was damaged in any sort of way, he'd make Voldemort completely regret every single thing he did.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N**: I'll reply to reviews when I post Chapter Fourteen. Enjoy these four chapters!

**_Come the Maëlstrom_**

_Chapter Ten_

Everything seemed fluid and dark, like spilled ink that flowed over parchment. His feet were bare and he could feel the slight tickle of grass beneath his feet. He started walking silently, attempting to look around and see, but the inky dark prevented him from seeing more than a few feet ahead of him. So far as he knew, he was the only one here; he couldn't sense anyone else's dream. His feet whispered against the grass as he continued on, the darkness becoming more and more oppressive and smothering. A furrow came to his brow as he looked up in a vain attempt to discern the time; anything temporal seemed to be suspended here. He could have been here for a few hours or a few days for all he knew.

A gentle rumble seemed to come from all around, and he froze. Once it stopped, he continued walking along, this time a bit warily. It seemed that the darkness was gradually lightening and he stopped, looking around. The grass at his feet was green and it sprung back up when he lifted a foot hesitantly.

"Evil..."

The sibilant whisper echoed around him, making it impossible to hear where it came from exactly. More whispers came now, all around him, growing louder and louder and more insistent before it came to a quietly crashing end.

"Evil..."

There had been two voices that time, directly behind him. He turned around and found himself facing an eleven year old Harry. Those green eyes bored into him with a startling intensity that would have easily shamed the Dark Lord.

"You're evil." he said easily.

The bald statement was immediately followed by a voice behind him that made him whirl around.

"Not precisely. It's more of a grey thing."

Lucius found himself facing an eleven year old version of himself.

"This is what you become," those green eyes still bored into him. "Can you live with that?"

"I can. But can you live with your shame? Your guilt?" his young voice was soft, insinuating. "With the one thing your blood knows but you don't?"

"Will you live with yours? It will get worse before it gets better."

His eleven year old self nodded his head sagely. "If you're that lucky."

Eleven-year old Harry bowed his head. "I don't know if I can live with mine."

He watched as his eleven year old self opened his arms and eleven year old Harry ran right into them. Right _through_ him into them. Lucius' brow furrowed in pure confusion he watched them vanish away into nothing just as Harry reached his younger self. He was still regarding the spot in puzzlement when a sharp crack echoed out loudly.

His gaze was drawn to a bright spot of white just up ahead. His steps started out slowly but sped up as he realised it was a flickering torch. A large pile of wood could be seen, something carried to it and placed down at the very top, while the cloaked figures, bowed down low and a keening wail reached his ears with an eerie warble.

When he got close enough, he found himself looking at a funeral pyre, stacked as tall as a person. And lying down on top, with the pallor of death clouding his face was Harry. His expression blackened as a torchbearer made their way closer and closer, intent on sending him up like some fallen Norse hero to the Valkyries. The darkness seemed to be creeping in closer, smothering the white. The cloaked figures cowered slightly and the darkness pressed in, until the torchbearer stuck the torch into the kindling. It immediately caught light and sent up a burst of flame, with pulses running up it. That darkness was completely gone now, and Lucius found himself pelting towards the pyre.

"I love you..."

He barely heard the words as the ground gave a fearsome rumbling shudder before it cracked open into a red abyss and swallowed him whole, all the while cackling in a voice that sounded like a triumphant Weasley.

* * *

Lucius' eyes snapped open and he scrambled to sit up in his bed, panting heavily and looking around. Dark, it was dark in here. He reached forward and snapped the curtains open to let in the light. The sun must have been setting or rising since everything in his bedroom was bathed in crimson light. It reminded him far too much of spilt blood and he went to shut the curtains once more when there came a small scream and the telltale 'pop' of one of his house elves disappearing. He closed the curtains, allowing in only a sliver of light. 

He ran a hand through his hair, staring down at the blanket over his knees. He looked at his hand to find it trembling slightly against the blanket. That was one profoundly disturbing mishmash of a dream. First of all, Lucius did not dream; ever. His sleep had always been undisturbed since he was a child. He did not need to have something like this smacking his subconscious around. Second was the oddly prophetic tone that it had; there hadn't been a Seer in the Malfoy line since the seventeenth century and there couldn't be now as Elrida Malfoy was barmy, and considered herself above the physical act of sex. Third were those three little words. He couldn't be sure if someone else had said them or if he himself had said the, But he was sure that he had never said those three damnable words to anyone in his life, ever. Malfoys did not ever use those three words; they caused far too many problems. He was still trying to puzzle it out when the curtains were suddenly ripped open and he looked up to find Severus standing there.

"About time that blasted fever of your broke," Severus growled.

"About time?" Lucius echoed, with a raised eyebrow.

"Considering you've been feverish for a week, yes, it's about bloody time." Severus said as he walked over to the night table and poured a glass of water. "Drink." He ordered tersely.

Lucius took the glass and sipped at it. His stomach was already protesting. He wasn't about to gulp it down no matter what. He hadn't even realized how thirsty he was. It was a long while before he made it halfway through the glass and stopped for a moment.

"And the Dark Lord wants my head on a silver platter?"

Severus shook his head. "I told him you valiantly sent Fudge off on a wild goose chase while you resisted the effects of Veritaserum. Thankfully Fudge is an idiot who did something that seemed to corroborate that. If anything, the Dark Lord is extremely pleased with you for 'for enabling him to further his plans'."

"What has Fudge done in the space of one week?"

"Messed everything up. All the power vested in him and he's under heavy guard, everything to do with Muggles has been consolidated into one liaison department, and there's speculation that there's some sort of secret Ministry organisation that's interrogating wizards suspected of connections to the Dark Lord. They simply vanish from the street, and some aren't seen again."

Lucius shook his head and took another sip of water; that certainly explained his 'abduction'; he must have been the very first. "Fudge is the very epitome of the quintessential political moron."

"Indeed," Severus lip curled in disdain. "From reports, he's falling out of favour with many wizards, though some do support his decisions. And, if you can imagine this, he even managed to get Umbridge back into Hogwarts."

"That disgusting toad is back there?" Lucius asked, his lip curling in disgust.

"Observational purposes only, so that if the Dark Lord attacks the school she will be able to alert the Ministry and receive instructions for the Aurors there."

"Hmph," Lucius didn't say anything for a moment taking a few more sips of water. He was almost done. "So long as she doesn't interfere again."

"She's tried," Severus said. "I believe you've heard of Fred and George Weasley?"

Lucius nodded his head. Even he'd heard the students chattering about it at King's Cross after fifth year. Fireworks that multiplied when spelled, entire classes sick due to their line of candy, a swamp that took some doing to remove... they would undoubtedly go down in Hogwarts legend.

"They've been selling things like mad to the Hogwarts students via catalogue. I don't know how they smuggle it in, but so long as it keeps that vile woman away from me..." Severus paused for a moment, watching Lucius curiously. "Just how did Fudge get Veritaserum down your throat?"

"It was either I take it willingly or they forced it down," Lucius took another sip of water. "I was out for a week?"

Snape nodded. "There have only been a few documented cases of the Obscumens brew reacting with Veritaserum and that person did not survive; it's one of the first cases of Veritaserum reacting with another potion. The person slipped into a coma and suffered from hallucinations up until the moment that they died. You had a temperature of 110 when I found you. The house elves were beside themselves and Narcissa looked thrilled." He paused. "High fever and hallucinations or hallucinatory dreams are a side effect of the potions interactions, so if you did hallucinate or dream, it was simply fever and nothing more."

"I have no doubt... the conniving bitch would be happy." Lucius muttered darkly. "Have you been able to do any research?"

"Oh yes, in between brewing the potions you needed and ensuring a little thing called Death didn't decide to visit you permanently. It stopped by once earlier on though."

"I beg your pardon?" Lucius asked, managing to mask his surprise.

"You were dead for a good two minutes before I got your heart beating again," Severus said a smug smile on his face. "Considering the fact that you claimed my attending Avalon Academia was a waste of time, I'd say you owe them a rather large bit of gratitude."

Lucius scowled at Severus. "I am not opening my pocketbook, thank you. That's all they ever want."

"Ever cynical," Severus tsked in a reproachful voice.

"You're a fine one to talk about cynicism." Lucius retorted.

Severus gave one of his rarely amused chuckles. "Since you're better now, I think I'll take my leave. I've left the house elves with explicit instructions as to your care," he settled his cloak on his shoulders. "If you feel up to it later on in the week," he gave Lucius a look that said he meant exactly that. "Go to your library. I left a spell in place to sort out all the books you may find useful to some degree. I have my own research to conduct at Hogwarts."

Lucius didn't say anything as Severus walked out of the room and shut the door behind him quietly. He had just looked back down at his blanket when a 'pop' sounded in the room.

"Master Lucius is all right! Master Severus has cured you! Oh, Bwink knew Master Severus could..."

He groaned as he heard Bwink's ecstatic voice, automatically tuning her out. Damn his house elf. She insisted on doing practically everything for him. He did not need to be dressed like a child in the morning. And certainly not by a house elf, no less; it was nothing short of very degrading. What he could use now was a bath, a change of clothes, something to eat and then perhaps-

"...Mistress Narcissa tried to sneak in but Bwink wouldn't let her! Bwink knew she was planning to do something bad to Master!"

Bwink's sudden fierce words roused him from his thoughts. "Repeat that again." He said quietly.

Bwink looked at him in surprise, as if realising he was still there. "What Master Lucius?"

"Say that again. What you just said." Lucius said in exasperation.

"Mistress Narcissa tried to get in here when you was sleeping Master Lucius and Master Severus had to leave for a bit. But I wouldn'ts let her. She wanted to do something bad to Master Lucius. Bwink heard her."

Bwink gasped and started to gnaw viciously on her hand.

"Stop that," Lucius said in a slightly irritated voice. "Did she really? And just what was that witch planning?"

Bwink opened her mouth to try and speak but gave a strangled sound and proceeded to start bashing her head against the floor with a fairly loud 'thunk'. Lucius grabbed Bwink by the arm and pulled her up roughly.

"Bwink..." Lucius growled.

"Bwink can't say! Bwink serves Mistress Narcissa as well! Bwink cannot betray her!" she started smacking herself with her bony little hand.

Lucius had to pause for a moment to calm down. House elves were very frustrating creatures; useful but frustrating. He let go of her arm and let her stand on her own. "Bwink, if you don't tell me, you may find yourself with only Narcissa as your master."

That made Bwink stop and cringe in visible fear. Just how bad could Narcissa be if Bwink preferred him over her?

"Bwink..." he said threateningly.

"Bwink can't!" she wailed and started beating herself against the bedpost.

"Stop that," he ordered, giving her a curt slap to the face. "For Salazar's sake, you're my personal house elf from now on! Now tell me!"

Bwink gave a hurt little cry and fell to the floor. She picked herself up with joy in her eyes. "Master Lucius' personal house elf?"

Lucius stifled the curses that wanted to fly free. "Yes," he managed. "My personal house elf, but you may still serve Narcissa should she ask you for something. But when I ask you to tell me something, you will tell me immediately, am I understood?"

Bwink nodded, clutching her hands rapturously. "Bwink understands Master Lucius."

"Good. Then we are going to try this again, and you had better get it right," Lucius said slowly. "What was Narcissa planning?"

Bwink looked around fearfully. "May Bwink whisper it in Master Lucius' ear?"

In all his life, Lucius had never heard anything so audacious from a house elf. Well, there was Dobby, but Dobby was long gone now; freed by Harry. And Dobby had always been an oddball. He looked over Bwink; there was no way that he was letting that stained, filth covered rag masquerading as clothing anywhere on his bed, much less any closer to it.

"No. But whisper it anyhow if you must." He said.

Bwink looked around once more before speaking in a horrified voice. "Mistress Narcissa was wanting to poison Master Lucius so he wouldn'ts wake up. Ever again." Her bony hands flew up to her mouth in shock and her eyes widened even more with apprehension.

Lucius didn't say anything for a moment. "Just how badly do you want me gone Narcissa?" he murmured to himself.

"Is Master Lucius wanting to know anything else?" Bwink peered up at him hopefully with watery brown eyes and what looked like the start of a runny nose.

"No," Lucius said managing to mask his distaste. "That will be all for today."

"Master Lucius is sure he wants for nothing else?"

His eyes flickered up to the bathroom door for a moment. "Draw me a bath. And see to it that I am not disturbed in any manner whatsoever."

"Yes, Master Lucius!" Bwink said before vanishing with a pop.

"Bloody house elves..." Lucius muttered as he looked out the window once more.

The sky was a dark black-indigo now, with faint streaks of crimson in spots. An involuntary shiver passed through him as he regarded it. He wasn't sure why, and it certainly wasn't cold in the room. With a shake of his head, he looked away, chiding himself. He was far too pragmatic to start contemplating more... esoteric things.

Bwink appeared back with another pop. "Bath is ready, Master Lucius."

"That will be all then." Lucius said, barely looking at the tiny elf.

"But Master Severus was saying – " Bwink began hesitantly.

"I am fine." Lucius said pointedly. "If you're going to be my personal house elf, at least clean up a bit more." his eyes flickered over her in disgust. "That is all for now. I shall summon you if I need anything."

Bwink made a thoroughly ecstatic sound before she nodded her head rapidly – almost bashing her head against the floor again – and disappeared with an abrupt popping sound. Lucius snorted in disdain as he shifted to the edge of the bed and shrugged into a robe. He rose slowly and made his way to his private bathroom. A nice warm bath was what he needed at the moment, perhaps a bit to eat later on and this incident would be soon forgotten.

* * *

A warm fire crackled heartily in the fireplace and cast dancing shadows in the room. There was a large, long table littered with half open books, books with little bits of parchment stuck at various spots, books turning themselves to specific pages and quills copying certain passages. In the middle of all this activity, Lucius sat dead centre, poring over a book that the Dark Lord would have killed to get his hands on. Considering that it contained a few previously unused poisons that had no antidote, Lucius was just as glad it was in his personal library. Unfortunately, it seemed that none of them would be useful to any degree. He snapped it shut and picked up another one to start through. He didn't bother to look up when a slight pop sounded. 

"Master Lucius?"

Bwink sounded a touch nervous. He looked up to find the house elf wringing her hands so hard it seemed like she would pull her fingers out from the socket. Lucius gave a rather cold stare.

"I am quite sure I indicated that I was not to be interrupted."

"Yes but Master Valerian is here, Master Lucius."

Lucius snorted and turned back to his book with a nod of his head. Trust his lawyer to come at a time when he was truly busy and not pretending to have something to do. The gentle creak of the library doors opening didn't make him look up at all.

"My, my," a soft contralto voice echoed slightly in the room. "I see you've been quite busy. This is why you've pushed back out appointment since you've recovered. You've kept me waiting a whole week. I am a very busy man, Lucius."

He glanced up to find the lean man surveying the table with a rather sardonic, and amused, gleam in his eye. As usual, his lawyer was dressed in the dark navy-blue robes of his office but left open to reveal the crisp white shirt, black slacks and shined black shoes. His hands were shoved casually in his pocket and his appearance was somewhat relaxed and friendly. Lucius knew it was anything but.

"Almost eleven at night," he mused glancing at the clock. "How prudent of you to call at a decent hour Valerian."

"I had very little inclination to run into your wife. As she's bombarded me with belligerent owls and flooded my secretary with extra paperwork, I don't wish to be held liable for my actions in the sanctity of your home."

Lucius snorted as he snapped the book shut and pick up yet another. "And just what would be the reason of visit?"

"It has been made known to me that you were prompted to answer certain questions during an illegal interrogation." Valerian slipped a gloved hand from his pocket and rubbed his chin slightly. "As my sources tell me, Fudge himself interrogated you under the supervision of Aurors Kingsley Shacklebolt and Nymphadora Tonks, while a Percy Weasley took notes. Am I correct?"

Lucius nodded his head curtly as he glanced up at Valerian. He never quite understood why the man wore gloves, through summer and winter, but to each his own. The man was a brilliant lawyer and had a very useful talent of gleaning truth from what seemed to be thin air; that's what he paid him for.

"A few other prominent families have had this occur to some family members as well and are attempting to file a joint lawsuit."

"Shall I assume kidnapping, forced confessions, coercion and blatant disregard for the use of Veritaserum are among the litany of charges."

Valerian inclined his head. "You assume correctly. Considering the fact that you fell gravely ill due to their ineptitude," the derision in his voice was plain to hear. "The other families would be most pleased if you joined in the suit as well."

Lucius placed the text on the table and regarded Valerian for a long moment. "If I knew I wasn't going to be on trial at a later date, as I undoubtedly will be, I would have owled you immediately upon waking up to sue them for every penny."

"Quite true," Valerian chuckled. "As you wish. Bide your time and pick your fights. I myself must 'pick' one tomorrow. A client wishes me to deliver something to their child at Hogwarts. Do you know how hard it is to get permission to simply deliver something in person to the school? It took me a month to get the clearance needed from the Headmaster."

"This is war," Lucius said simply, eyes scanning over the table.

"True again," Valerian placed his gloved hands in his pockets once more. "I shall see myself out, don't trouble yourself. We certainly don't want you to have a relapse of any sort."

Lucius simply gave a slight smile at the sarcasm. "I didn't say I was done with you quite yet, did I?" eyes still searching for something.

"Didn't you?" Valerian paused and looked back with an arched eyebrow. "For once I've finished with work before three in the morning. I deserve to pay some attention to my neglected bed."

Finally spying it, Lucius reached under a small pile of papers and drew out a slim, and sealed, envelope. Rising, he held it out simply. Valerian gave a small sigh, walked back over and took it.

"Surely you don't –" his eyes widened in surprise once he read the name on the front. "Harry Potter?!"

"I trust this will reach his hands, and his hands alone." Lucius stated simply. "It would be greatly amiss if it fell into the wrong hands... of any kind."

Valerian nodded his head. "I don't normally play owl for just anyone, but I can make an exception."

"How very gracious of you," Lucius replied sitting back down and picking up the book once more. "Now, I'm done with you."

"As you say," Valerian said with a light chuckle, tucking the envelope in an inner robe pocket. "I hope your research goes well," he called as he walked to the library doors. "Oh," he paused, hand on the doorknob. "And if I see that hag wife of yours skulking around my office again, don't be surprised if a nasty Howler is addressed to her during dinner."

And with that, Valerian slipped out and the door closed with a gentle creak and click. Lucius watched the door for a moment before he stared at the fire. He didn't know what possessed him to write a letter to Harry. But to actually send it off... the illness must have addled his mind more than he thought. That and working almost non-stop a day since he had woken up. And now, four nights later, he was still going at it. He shifted his gaze to the book before he closed it and rose from his seat. Once he outed the fire, he left everything where it was and walked out of the library, but not before locking the door, and raising a few wards on it. Then he made his way to the comfort of his bedroom. He certainly wasn't useful if he was worn out completely.


	11. Chapter 11

**__**

Come the Maëlstrom

Chapter Eleven

With an exhausted sigh, Harry flopped down in the chair, staring up at the ceiling.

Valencia's arrival at Hogwarts seemed to herald a purely chaotic week. That Monday morning, everyone had been clamouring to see who had arrived in the infirmary and he could barely teach a DA lesson with out someone asking him a question. When he'd finally snapped and yelled at a sixth-year, he had no more trouble for awhile. After the DA lesson, he barely had time for dinner before he had yet another training session with Moody, on top of the one he had after breakfast. Hermione and Ron had come to him with an issue that had been raised once and that he settled quite firmly. Terry Boot had ended up teaching a DA class that Draco Malfoy was attending. Hermione was unsure. Ron wanted to kick him out on his arse. Harry told them, in no uncertain terms, that Draco was staying in the class; what was the point in raising house rivalries again when they were obviously doing something to save their lives? This was much bigger.

The next day, what was supposed to be a quiet relaxing breakfast had been interrupted by Hermione charging into his rooms to drop the morning edition of the Daily Prophet right on his lap. The glaring words of, '**_Ministry of Magic goes after suspected Death Eaters_**' was enough to send his stomach into a sharp lurch of worry and make him lose his appetite. He read the article thoroughly and there had been no mention of Lucius at all. There were some names but Harry knew they certainly weren't Death Eaters. Or, at the very least, part of Voldemort's Inner Circle. But he still couldn't stop the worry that if they hadn't gotten Lucius yet, it was only a matter of time. That day had been filled with whiny second-years in DA class, three training lessons from Moody, and surprise inspections from all teachers to ensure his skills were up to par. For once in his life, everything but Potions seemed like a disaster. By the time he collapsed into bed, he was completely frazzled and skipped dinner in favour of sleep.

Wednesday held one nasty shock. He'd actually gone down to the Great Hall for breakfast to chat with the other Gryffindors only to receive the announcement that Dolores Umbridge was back in the school while the town of Hogsmeade and the grounds of Hogwarts would be under very heavy Auror guard. It was not the kind of start Harry had wanted to his day at all. He had to go through revision work with his teachers and Moody seemed to be keeping him at three, two hour training sessions a day; one after breakfast, one after lunch and one after dinner. Add in teaching two DA classes with some third-years that had some very sloppy Patronus charms, and Harry counted himself lucky to have something of a temper left by the end of the day.

Thursday' was very similar to Wednesday and Friday's Daily Prophet seemed to set off the powder keg that must have been slowly smouldering in Hogwarts since his disappearance. A pale faced Ron had brought him a paper with the headline of, '**_Death Eater attack on Muggle and Wizarding London_**'. It caused an explosion. Rumours were flying thick and fast, and it seemed that everyone turned up for DA lessons. Harry, Ron and Hermione had to press virtually everyone who had been in the club from its start in fifth year to handle the sheer amount of people as well as some professors who volunteered their time. He'd managed to satisfy his professors as to his work and only had to contend with managing to eat meals, teaching the many DA classes at different levels and Moody's training sessions that had been upped to four.

The headline on the Saturday Daily Prophet was no small surprise. Hermione had read the words of, '**_Fudge declares a state of emergency_**' with a scathing expression in her eyes and she stared down at the picture of Fudge delivering a fiery speech from a podium. Harry had managed a scowl and said, "Too little, too late'. Ron had nodded his head with a 'Hear, hear' and then they all had to run to get to their classes on time. He didn't even want to think about the gruelling training that Moody had put him through on.

"There's only been one good thing to this week," Harry mumbled as he let his eyes close. "I didn't see Umbridge once and Snape's been gone this entire time."

He wasn't sure how long he sat there but he must have dozed off because someone shook him on the shoulder gently with a very familiar touch.

- Come on Harry, let's get you to bed. You're exhausted. If you're not careful you'll wear yourself down to the bone. -

- No, no, it's all right, I was just resting my eyes, - he protested, sitting up groggily. He froze in surprise when he realised who it was. - Valencia?! -

She nodded her head. - Come on Harry, bed. I'm sure you have plenty of questions and I'll answer them. Once you get some sleep. - She said firmly.

Harry let his shoulders sag as she helped him up and guided him to his bedroom. - He got you out, right? -

- He did. At great risk to himself as I've come to understand it. - She helped him out of his robe. - Now, no more questions. Just get some sleep, all right? -

He nodded dumbly as he toed his shoes off and fell on top of his bed, far too tired to move any more. Valencia clucked her tongue as she tucked him in and removed his glasses for him. Harry was fast asleep by the time she closed the bedroom door.

* * *

The air was a bit chilly and, at the moment, Harry was standing in front of his bedroom window, wrapped up in the blanket he had pulled from his bed. He'd woken up a couple of minutes ago, completely confused and momentarily wondering just how late he was for his early evening DADA class. That was before he saw the blurry note resting on the bedside table beside his glasses. It was from Remus, telling him that his classes had been covered and Moody had given up on training him for the day, as he couldn't even get a response out of him. He'd apparently slept soundly through the poking, prodding and yelling and a furious Valencia had dragged out Moody before he could get the idea of using a spell to get a desired response. 

So maybe he had overextended himself just a little bit. He'd have to make sure that didn't happen again.

At the moment, his gaze was still staring at the sky, taking in the dark black-indigo with streaky splotches of crimson in it. When he'd woken up, the sky had been a blaze of crimson and before he knew it, he found himself standing here, watching the sunset. Of course, only half of his mind was turning over the sunset. The other half was dwelling on the convoluted and…odd dream he'd had and trying to come to grips with the intense, and overwhelming, feeling that he was utterly alone. The dream had plagued his sleep, but when he woke up he had no time to pay any mind to it. This was actually the first bit of time he had to himself in a week. When his stomach grumbled, he shook his head a little bit, pulled the blanket in closer around him and shuffled out of his bedroom. When he walked into the parlour, there was a crackling fire in the hearth, the only light in the room, and Ernesto was sitting on the couch beside Valencia.

Harry stood there silently, watching her for a moment in the flickering lights and shadows. She didn't look quite right, as if she were missing something he couldn't quite place his finger on. The moments ticked on by before he sighed and walked out to the couch. They both looked up at him, but didn't say anything as he plunked himself down, still bundled up in blankets, staring into the heart of the fire.

- Look Valencita! - Ernesto gasped in mock shock. - He's… emerges from his lair! He's… alive! -

Valencia looked over at Harry and smiled faintly. - Did you sleep well? -

- It was all right… - Harry said slowly still looking at her curiously.

- Is something wrong Harry? - her brow furrowed a bit.

Harry opened his mouth to speak but found the words vanishing from his tongue immediately. He watched her, realising just what it was that wasn't right. She was too quiet, too subdued, as if something had been torn away from her. That normally bright, cheerful effervesce about her was gone, snuffed out. He tried to speak again but simply ended up blinking rapidly, deciding to stare down at the blanket.

- You don't have to tell me anything. - Ernesto told me, Valencia murmured as she patted him gently on the shoulder. - Everything about… this world, about… Harry? -

All he did was move in closer, resting his head on her shoulder. - I'm so sorry. If I had known before, I could I have done something, I could have… - he whispered.

Valencia gave a weary sounding sigh as she wrapped an arm around Harry's shoulder and started stroking his hair slowly. - Don't start blaming yourself. How could you possibly know with that old man keeping information from you? -

- But I should have - -

- I see what you were talking about Ernesto, - she said a bit grimly. There was a faraway steely expression in her eyes before she looked back at Harry and it softened. - You have far too many expectations placed on you. These people are expecting far too much of you. And you feel as if you have to meet those expectations, hm? -

- It's not like I can just tell them to get lost, - he whispered. - It's hard; it's like… -

- Like you were the only one who's pushed out there. You don't know what to do, you don't know where to turn to and the last thing you want to do is to fail miserably and have everyone leave you. - Valencia said, with that faraway expression again. - I know it's hard Harry, I know. But you had no idea that something like that would have occurred, much less prevented it. I suppose you only found out when Ernesto showed up, right? - she continued to stroke his hair gently.

He nodded his head. - It's almost like I'm alone, - he murmured. - Even though he's not here… and he's supposed to be…but he's not…and - - the words were tangling again, his face flushed with embarrassment and he suddenly found himself fighting the urge to cry.

- You're surrounded by people who don't truly know or understand; and even though he's not here, you know that he does. -He nodded dumbly. Valencia sighed heavily and gave a faint smile, looking at Ernesto. - I know you came to see me that night. -

Harry stiffened. - I'm sorry that - -

- Don't. - Ernesto said gruffly. - We know you've been running around this school like mad taking care of your… responsibilities, - his lip curled a bit at that. - Valencita understands that too. - He paused for a long moment. - We also want you to know that you have our full support, whatever you decide. Not what that crazy coot decides, what you decide Harry. -he scowled heartily at the fire.

- Is there something I'm missing? - Valencia asked mildly.

- Ernesto had a few words with Dumbledore, the school's headmaster. -

- Headmaster! Ha, not if that's how he looks after your welfare! - Ernesto bristled. - Good lord, I wouldn't give him a dog to look after! How he's headmaster… I think _he_, - he looked at Harry pointedly. - Would make a better headmaster than Dumbledore! -

Harry stiffened and swallowed thickly at that; in a sad way that sentence was literally true. Dumbledore had kept Sirius locked away inside. And he had gone rushing out, thinking Sirius was in danger when Sirius was rushing after him because he was the one in danger… and then the fight and Bellatrix… then Sirius fell through The Veil and…

- Harry? - Valencia asked with a tinge of worry in her voice. She looked between Harry and Ernesto. - What did he say? What's wrong? -

- Did I say something to upset you? - Ernesto asked, a furrow in his brow.

- No, no, - Harry said after taking a deep and somewhat shaky breath. - It's all right, you didn't know. - he looked at Valencia. - Just how did you get away from Voldemort? - he cursed as she stiffened, her hand stilling. - Sorry, um…the Dark Lord. -

- No, don't be sorry, - Valencia said hastily. - It's just… he… Voldemort was so… - the words hung heavy in the air before Valencia spoke again. - Well, let's say I'd rather not meet him again, hm? -

Harry gave a slight chuckle and gave a deep sigh. - Just how long were you there? How did you get out? -

- I don't know… there was no way to tell time; I'd guess about two weeks… maybe a week and a half, a week, a few days. I can't be sure, the light was always on and I slept so little. - She paused. - You know, he is a very curious man. A sadistic streak, a vicious tongue, and he can crush someone completely. It's not a pleasant thing to see in him. Yet you wouldn't think he would have the capacity to be gentle and caring. I feel very privileged to know that side of him. You should especially Harry; don't trifle with something like that. -

He nodded his head again. - Why should I when he's one of the very few that understand. -

Valencia smiled slightly. - I didn't recognise him at first. He brought me my dinner a few times before I recognised his eyes. And then one day he slipped me a spoon. Said to not let anyone else see it and to always keep hold of it, - she shook her head. - Seemed rather odd to me. I mean, it was just a battered spoon that had obviously seen better days… and better places. When he came next, he said I would be gone from that place in two days and I didn't see him again after that. Still made no sense. So I simply stayed quietly in my cell and pretended to sulk. I never let go of that spoon. - She lapsed into silence.

- And the Voldemort came… didn't he? - Harry said quietly.

- Voldemort came. Called me names. I just scowled at him. Then he just smirked and watched me… with those horrible red eyes of his in that pale, pale face… - she shivered. - And then all of a sudden, it was like he was in my head, trying to see things, find things. I didn't want him to see anything at all. It hurt so much…it felt like… -

- Like your head was about to split open, - Harry said quietly. - Like it was swelling in an instant and about to explode from sheer pressure. -

Valencia nodded her head. - Voldemort came back twice. Each time, all he did was look at me and made my head hurt. But he left each time in a bad mood… - she paused before speaking a bit shakily. - He came back two more times and left. But when he came back the third time, I knew he was going to kill me; I just knew it. I could see it in his eyes, the way he stroked his wand and the way he… he grinned at me, - she closed her eyes with a hard swallow. - He looked at me again it hurt. It hurt so much more than before. At that point I would have wanted someone to kill me to put me out of my misery. The next thing I knew… the whole world was moving and I ended up in that office and I passed out. -

- But you're all right? -

- I don't think I will ever be all right after that. It was like he was attempting to rape my mind. And I say attempt because he left in such bad moods. Foul is more the word; I don't know if he found what he was looking for… - her hand resumed stroking Harry's hair again. - But that's all done and over with. There's no point in dwelling on the matter. I'm here, I'm safe, and I owe a particular someone a very large debt; he saved my life.-

Harry didn't say anything for a minute, content to simply sit there. - Do you realise that - -

- We know we can't go back to our farm, - Ernesto said a bit sadly. - We won't be able to until this Voldemort is gone and the rest of his loyal Death Eaters have been captured. We've been discussing it all week. -

- And? - Harry asked after a moment.

- Well, we can't exactly stay in a school, - Ernesto said. - But I also get the feeling that Dumbledore may not let us leave. Two Muggles that barely speak English won't last very long here. And would stick out like sore thumbs. -

- Look like you're stuck with me again, huh? - Harry said managing a smile.

- Brat, - Valencia admonished in an amused tone. She smiled a bit as she fingered a lock of his hair. - When was the last time you had a decent haircut? -

- I don't know, - Harry shrugged. - I figure I'll get one eventually. -

- When you do, only get an inch or so cut off. Get rid of dead ends, - Valencia gave a smile that had the ghost of a smirk in it. - I daresay you growing it out has solved your problem of multiple cowlicks. -

Harry blinked and grabbed at his hair. It was indeed long enough for him to pull forward and inspect. At this length, it had to be around his neck somewhere. He released it. - Wow… I didn't even notice it got that long. -

- Just don't let her play Barbie with you. That's the last thing you'll ever want, trust me! - Ernesto said vehemently.

- I am not that bad! - Valencia protested.

Ernesto leaned in conspiratorially. - She had me get dressed for a wedding… spend all day in Madrid suffering her and her endless comments not to mention store and change rooms. -

Harry chuckled as Valencia swatted Ernesto and he drew back with a mock sound of anger and indignation. As the conversation turned to more light-hearted things, Harry got a distinct feeling that everything would turn out fine and he wasn't so alone.

* * *

"All right that's it for today!" Harry called out with a Sonorus charm. "You can all shove off for dinner!" 

A collective sigh of relief rose from the room and the students trudged out one by one. Harry smiled slightly, seeing them chatter on about the lesson. While it was rather intense, there had been a very good point to him abandoning the lesson plan for today. He had a class of rather fresh students who had stayed in the castle during the first battle rather than sneak out to fight. So he had divided the class up into small groups with the stipulation that they had to look out for themselves and one another. Then he'd started a melee style free-for-all. He'd stopped them a few minutes in with the warning that they would not be stopping until twenty minutes before class ended so he could remove various curses, jinxes and hexes.

Class had been a frenzy of running, ducking, and managing to save his skin, while the general noise would have brought down a flock of harpies.

"Everyone who is still cursed, hexed, jinxed or whatever, line up by that wall over there so I can come and help you!"

He sighed as he ended the Sonorous charm, seeing what appeared to be a goodly number of people make their way to the wall while he swished his wand to clear away the bits of crushed quill and parchment. He was certainly going to be late for dinner. Thankfully, he' d put aside the lesson plan and would review it to include what he had seen in the actual free-for-all. Then they could learn from the mistakes and –

"Um, excuse me."

Harry looked over to see a student frantically attempting to scratch something in the middle of their back. "Yeah?"

"Could you fix this now? It's killing me!"

A loud chorus of agreement came from the wall. Harry hurried his way over to find a large boil that had obviously been hexed with an enlargement charm and itching curse. Quite inventive. He quickly shrunk it down and ended the itching, while apologising to everyone in general for drifting off. He got some murmured acknowledgements from the students who were rapidly moving up the line and relieved of their various afflictions. Once he sent the last student through the door, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the lesson plan. He enlarged it to normal size and applied a stiffening charm to it, while pulling a fountain quill out from inside his robe.

A cursory look around the room proved that it was spotless and he walked out, already chewing on the end with his eyes fixed on the parchment. They were supposed to review basic defensive charms, offensive and defensive hexes and jinxes while curses were to be left at the end and reviewed with Patronuses. He knew they were covering some curses that could stimulate reactions to Dementors, so it was perfect to teach along with the Patronus charm. Granted these students had rather filmy Patronuses, but a carefully controlled, stimulated situation would undoubtedly –

His thoughts were broken as he collided into someone and fell to the ground, an unsightly splotch of ink covering his parchment. He drew his wand and hastily cleaned it up before unstiffening and rolling up the parchment quickly. He was picking up his fountain quill when he looked up a bit and froze. Flat toadish feet in strained velvet slippers greeted his view, barely visible beneath the hem of the dress. The dress it self was a simple velvet black, but Harry knew this kind all too well. Merlin knew he saw enough of it in fifth year. Still, clinging to one small shred of hope, he rose even though he knew exactly whom he was going to see. The squat round body had a fluffy pink cardigan and when he finally stood up, even though it was a couple inches over her, he found himself looking down into the face of Dolores Umbridge.

He couldn't quite suppress the urge to vomit and when his shoulders and throat convulsed, she tilted her head and blinked in a thoroughly froggish way that set his skin crawling. Her pasty face was as wide as ever, her eyes seemed to gleam with a sordid sort of delight and sitting right on top of her head was a large velvet bow.

"Why, hello Harry," Umbridge said, her face splitting into a smile.

Harry simply stood there for a moment, undecided on what he should do. One impulse was to run away screaming bloody murder. The other was to simply walk by her and pretend that she didn't exist. A childish part of him wanted to grab whatever was in his pocket, hoping there was something from the Weasley twins in it, fling it at her and bolt. The last urge was the most powerful and he was doing his best to not follow through on it. He wanted to rip that bow from her head, stretch it out and wrap it tightly around her throat and choke her until she couldn't breathe any more. He simply brushed the dirt off from his robes and inclined his head slightly in acknowledgement.

That had a greater effect that Harry had hoped for. Umbridge scowled for a moment before her smile became ever wider.

"I said, hello Harry."

He went from faintly pleased to angry in under one second. His lips thinned and pulled back into a snarl. "Don't push your luck you stupid bint."

Umbridge looked utterly shocked for a moment before she gave a satisfied little smile. "Tell me, how is Quidditch?"

Unfortunately that lifetime ban she had placed on him was still in effect and had prevented him from playing on the house team. He certainly didn't need another reprimand from the Ministry and get his wand destroyed. That was it; she'd gone too far. Harry's jaw tightened and he stepped forward with a black look on his face. The hand that had suffered her black quill curled tightly into a fist. "Look, you disgusting little hag," he was pleased to see her take a small step back. "I should do what the centaurs didn't do and kill you. I should do everyone a favour by taking that filthy ribbon of yours from your head and strangling you with it until you're good and –"

"Harry? Harry Potter?"

He looked around sharply to find a man standing so close he must have heard every word uttered. His eyes raked over the lean frame, taking in the open navy blue robes, black slacks and crisp white shirt. Blue-green eyes smiled down from behind glasses and a few bangs of wavy honey coloured hair escaped the ponytail. This certainly wasn't a student.

"Who the fuck are you?" he demanded tersely.

Amazingly, the man's face crinkled even more with a smile. "If I may, it's quite a pleasure to meet you." He offered his hand.

That hadn't been the reaction Harry was expecting and he felt the anger drain from him. "Er…likewise Mr…" he trailed off as he shook the man's hand. He was wondering what someone would be wearing gloves for when the man spoke again.

"Nihilare. Valerian Slean Nihilare. Barrister." He produced a business card from his robe that he gave to Harry. "I find the card helps from time to time."

"I don't know you…do I?" he asked hesitantly.

"Oh gracious no!" Valerian chuckled. "You may have heard of some of my clients though. The Boneses, Malfoys, Longbottoms, Blacks, and, I daresay, Weasleys."

"Twins?"

"Two and the same," Valerian said wryly. "They certainly talk about the great aid you gave to them."

"But why are you their barrister?"

"I'm one of the best. It's Gred and Forge. Need I say any more?"

"No actually," Harry laughed. "That says it all."

"Indeed. Appearances aren't always what they seem, are they?"

Harry's brow furrowed momentarily as Valerian looked meaningfully at the business card before looking back up at Harry. A distinctly offended, "Hem, hem" drew their attention back to the foul witch. Well, his attention anyway. Valerian looked over her completely, puzzled before he looked down and curled his lip in obvious distaste.

"I believe I was talking to Mr. Potter." She said, swelling a bit.

"No," Valerian said slowly. "I believe he was describing in graphic detail the reasons why you shouldn't antagonise him."

Umbridge glared nastily at him. "I don't know why you're still kicking." She said nastily.

Valerian snorted before he leaned in slightly towards Harry. "She's just mad at me because she tried to have a werewolf killed. Quite a nice lady actually. Has three children. Or rather had before the Ministry took them away to live with the father." He eyed Umbridge nastily.

"She was a danger to the children." Umbridge spat venomously

"Now really, we live in such modern times, yet we have antiquated mouldering hags like this one here around," he gestured vaguely to Umbridge. "In case you forget, lycanthrophy only occurs during the full moon. She was taking her Wolfsbane potion and it certainly wouldn't have been any trouble to send the children away for the night. The aunt was quite willing. More than willing in fact."

Harry made a mental note to talk to Remus about Valerian soon.

"She should have died!" Umbridge practically shrieked with her eyes bugging out.

Valerian's eyes flickered over her in disgust before he looked back at Harry. His eyes rested on Harry's hand for a moment before he spoke. "Should you ever wish to sue this vile bag of a woman, simply firecall or drop by my office. Ask the card and it will give you explicit instructions on how to get there via the Floo network. Did I give you one?" he handed Harry another one.

"Sue her?" Harry asked eagerly, taking the new card and placing it politely in his pocket; he now understood what some people meant when Christmas came early. "You mean I can sue her and get that dumb ban she made removed so I can play Quidditch again?!"

Valerian chuckled. "If you wish, but I was thinking along some other lines. May I?"

Harry nodded in puzzlement as Valerian took his right hand and tapped it gently with his wand. His eyes widened as the words of, 'I must not tell lies' appeared on his hand in red, shining letters, as if they were written in blood.

"How did…" Harry's words trailed off in shock.

Valerian gave a wistful smile as he removed his left glove and tapped his left hand. Harry noticed that he was wincing as the words of, 'I am a filthy liar' appeared there.

"We both know of that nasty black quill of hers," Valerian said as he tapped Harry's hand to make the words vanish. "If you catch it in a certain light you can see it easily. It uses a permanent, and probably illegal, sort of charm to etch in the words and they stay there until the day you die. A healer botched my treatment and…"

"Your own blood?" Harry looked a bit sickened at that.

Valerian nodded as he muttered an unfamiliar spell and stuffed his hand back into his glove. "My other hand says that I am but a slut. She caught me in the broom closet with Bertha Jorkins when we were young interns at the Ministry. This hag is the reason why I left and became a barrister."

At this point, Harry swung his gaze back to Umbridge who had stuck her nose in the air. She walked past the two of them haughtily and Harry couldn't resist the urge to stick his leg out. She went down spectacularly in a flurry of stubby arms and legs and indignant shrieks. It brought out a few students as well as some teachers, who decided that watching and laughing were the best things to do.

"Very nicely done Mr. Potter," Valerian murmured. "Although, I shall admit, I was planning the very same thing."

"Harry, what's going on?"

He turned around to see Ron pop through the crowd, looking at the lawyer. "Look for yourself." He pointed to Umbridge.

Ron snickered before covering it up with a cough. "And who's this?" he asked, scrutinising the man carefully.

"Barrister. Your twin brothers hired me. Valerian Slean Nihilare."

"Oh, no wonder you look familiar! I've met you before."

"The great FwooTaffy Incident as I recall," Valerian mused. "Oh well. My business here is done and I must be on my way. Good day to you both gentlemen."

And with that he bowed and made his way, stepping over Umbridge gracefully but managing to step on her stubby fingers and make it look like an accident. The resulting howling and overdone sarcastic apologies made everyone laugh even harder. When Harry managed to wipe the tears from his eyes, he found Ron pegging the business card with an odd glare. Before he could open his mouth to say anything, Ron dragged him away from the crowd.

"Harry, who gave you that?"

"What? This?" he held up the business card.

"Yes, that!" Ron hissed.

"Why, is something wrong with it?" he peered at it and turned it over. He even sniffed it and he couldn't find anything wrong with it.

"Is something-" Ron spluttered. "Yes, there's something wrong with it! It's not a business card at all!"

Harry looked down at the simple white rectangle. "Must be transfigured."

"There's a weird crest on it with some language. Looks like French."

"Maybe it from Sirius," he looked up at Ron. "I mean from his estate or something. I'm guessing he had a will and the lawyer wanted to deliver it to me this way just in case someone else was around."

Ron seemed to relax a bit at that. "Yeah, that must be it. It looks like a bloody thick letter though."

Harry looked at the card again and frowned. "I'll just untransfigure it when I get back to my rooms. Oh, don't tell 'Mione about it, would you?" he stuffed it in his pants pocket along with the other one.

"Can do. Oh! Speaking of 'Mione, she sent me to get you. She's on the warpath, mate." Ron clucked before he singsonged, "You didn't follow the lesson plan."

"Well, it worked. They –

"Harry!"

The loud, indignant yell made both boys cringe and turn around to see Hermione storming up to them, bringing everyone's attention in her wake as Umbridge had managed to pick herself up and stalk off.

"What's this I hear?" she demanded. "You didn't follow the lesson plan! You had them all fighting! Fighting! Fighting with one another at such an inexperienced level! Just what were you thinking!" she paused to take a breath. "They could have –"

"They could have taken it more seriously than they were," he replied, cutting her off easily. "They weren't buckling down, so I threw them in the deep end. Sink or swim, Hermione. I bet I won't have as many problems next class."

Hermione's mouth opened and closed rapidly, as she was formulating a reply to that. At that point in time, Harry had never been happier to see Snape appear as the students parted for him.

"Causing a scene yet again?" his eyes scanned the three of them slowly before resting on Harry. "And apparently you forgot our daily… appointment."

Ron looked at him. "You have detention again?" he hissed.

Harry's face went red.

"Would you care to join him, Mr. Weasley?" Snape asked archly.

Ron remained silent. Snape watched them for a moment longer before he motioned his head imperiously at Harry and started walking. Harry scowled and clutched his fountain quill and parchment in his hand before stalking after Snape. The loud whispers grew fainter and fainter as they made their way down to the dungeons. When Snape opened a door, he slunk in unsure of what was going to happen. He hadn't even done anything to earn a detention this time. He steeled himself to open his mouth and say just that to Snape when he spied a tea set resting on a table between two overstuffed leather chairs. He gawked at it in disbelief before looking back at Snape.

"Would you run the risk of Dumbledore's alternate plan for us?" Snape sneered as he shut the door and took his seat. "I know I don't want that."

"Yes, ha ha, very funny." Harry said a bit peevishly as he shrunk down the parchment and tucked it away with the quill. "You didn't have to humiliate me like that."

Snape simply arched an eyebrow at him while he fixed a cup of tea.

"All right, all right," Harry groused. "So you did in order to get me here. You didn't need to pick on Ron though."

"Superfluous, but entirely enjoyable." Snape replied easily, pushing Harry's cup of tea forward.

With a scowl Harry took it and gulped down a scalding mouthful. "I think you enjoy it all too much."

"It's advisable to find something enjoyable about one's employment."

Harry scowled down into his mug. He'd already had a go at Umbridge, he didn't feel like a round with Snape. "I should have strangled that stupid bint with that velvet ribbon like I said. Never let it be said that toads are hard to kill." He snorted.

A slight coughing sound came from Snape's direction and when Harry looked up, he found the sallow man contemplating the depths of his own mug with the tiniest of smirks on his face. Harry sipped at his own tea now, enjoying the rather companionable, and amused, atmosphere in the air.

"Sir?" he asked awhile later.

A grunt came in reply.

"If I may, just where did you vanish to last week?"

"That," Snape said curtly. "Is none of your business."

Harry nodded his head in reply, not wanting to start up a row with Snape. Besides, he had his own problems to worry about at the moment at well. His training session with Moody and Remus had been cut back to three a week. And the critical light in Remus' eyes that had vanished before was back in full force. Remus hadn't said anything yet, but Harry could see it. He was till too short and scrawny for his age and considering both of his parents had been of decent height and he was barely 5'8' something had to be done.

"What on Earth are you frowning about?"

Harry looked up at Snape's harsh words. "Do you honestly want to know Sir?"

"I believe I don't, but humour me." Snape said sardonically.

Nothing was said for a bit longer as Harry took a few more sips of tea before talking. "I'm only asking you because I honestly don't have the time. In between the classes, my training schedule and other things, I barely have time to eat much less go to the library."

"Is there a intent to this so far pointless tale?" Snape demanded.

Steeling himself, Harry took a deep breath. "I need your help."

There was a silence in which Snape was clearly too shocked to say much of anything really. "Go see the werewolf." He finally replied.

"He can't help me," Harry said. He took another deep breath. "I need your help with a potion."

Snape didn't say anything again for a long moment. "My, my… this is an unexpected event; a Potter swallowing his pride, not to mention a sizeable ego, to ask for help from me."

"Don't rub it in any more. I'm aware of those facts." Harry said scathingly.

Harry watched as Snape settled back in his seat, smirking and watching from just over his mug. He gripped his mug a bit tighter in his hands.

"And just what type of potion could you need my… help with?"

Obviously, Snape was going to get as much enjoyment out of this as he could. Though it seemed like he was pouring a good amount of salt on the wound and rubbing it in briskly. Harry pursed his lips and took another sip.

"Can't answer a simple question?"

"A corrective restorative draught, Sir."

There came a heavy moment of silence. When Harry looked up, he found Snape looking at him with mild surprise. Those black hawkish eyes swept over his form with analytical light.

"For?" Snape asked a moment later before taking a drink of tea.

"Damage, Sir." Harry said quietly. He suddenly found his own tea mug very interesting. Maybe he could read the leaves and foretell his death by teapot and sugar cubes somehow.

Snape gave a disgusted sigh. "Must someone always explain everything to you? I meant for the damage done. I can already see signs of it."

"I didn't know that." Harry flushed a bright red.

"Obviously," Snape's lip curled. "Well?"

Nothing was said for a moment. Harry wished he could have escaped from Snape's intent and curious gaze. It struck him as a twisted sort of irony that he would have to hint at the occurrences that happened to him; the same ones that pushed him to master Occlumency.

"Well?" Snape demanded once more.

"To correct developmental damage, Sir." He said simply, still not looking up.

Snape didn't say anything for a long moment. "You'll have to very specific as to what caused the damage, Potter."

"What?! Why?!" Harry demanded with a touch of defensiveness evident in his voice.

"The potion's parameters are deliberately vague so it may be tailored to individuals, what damage occurred and it takes what caused the damage into account. As such, unless you tell me, you won't get the potion at all."

"Great, just bloody great." Harry muttered as he slumped in his seat

Snape snorted. "Always so melodramatic," he paused. Have you forgotten the one thing that would prevent me from telling anyone else, save the Headmaster?"

"Student-teacher confidentiality." Harry replied.

"Exactly," Snape began. "So why don't you –"

"That's not my problem. Well, that's not one of them."

"Then what is it?"

This is where Harry knew he had gone off the deep end. "I need you to not tell the Headmaster that I asked you for this."

"Not tell him? I can't, if it's serious enough, I'm bound by –"

"I don't think you're bound to tell him something he already knows."

That stopped Snape for a moment. "Already knows? What are you –"

"Will you?"

"No, but –"

Harry's sigh of relief escaped before he could stop it. "Then please don't tell him that I asked you for this."

"Potter," Snape said slowly after a long protracted silence. "Is there a particular reason why you're placing an inordinate amount of trust in me at the moment?"

"Who else could I ask? I don't want Ron or Hermione to know. And you're the only one who could probably brew it. Besides, the teas we normally had to suffer were horrid enough without the yelling. I thought something to discuss would be useful. Plus student-teacher confidentiality would ensure it wasn't leaked," he paused for a minute and smirked. "Besides, between you and Dumbledore, I think I picked the lesser of two evils."

Snape didn't say anything for a long moment and the light in his eyes said that he was floored. "I didn't think it possible for a Potter to actually use logic to convince someone."

Harry's smirk grew even smugger. "Am I still the dunce?"

"Marginally less," Snape replied. "Start listing."

Harry didn't say anything for a moment. "Nutritional deficiency from... poor diet."

"Explains your stunted growth and slightly sickly appearance."

He chose not to comment on Snape's greasy locks. "Stunted?! Sickly?!"

"Still evident but only if you know what to look for. You hide it well with that tan and longer hair. Continue."

"Skeletal damage. Improperly healed bones that broke from application of excessive force."

"Skeletal damage? Poppy –"

"I do go somewhere two months of the year when Hogwarts ends." Harry said a bit icily.

"You walk fine." Snape said with a frown.

Harry didn't say anything for a moment. "Skeletal damage." He repeated again.

"Anything else?"

"Damage due to chronic illness," Harry said after a moment's thought. "And I believe that's it."

"Hm, what illnesses? Muggle, I presume?"

Harry nodded. "Mumps, chicken pox, measles, pneumonia, winter colds… that's it. The colds were yearly for eleven years and I only caught pneumonia four times."

"During your childhood?" Snape demanded sharply.

"Yes. Basically I need a draught to correct eleven years of those damages," Harry paused for a moment. "Will this change me all at once."

"Once brewed and ingested, yes."

"Is there anyway to do it a bit at a time? I don't want questions all at once."

Snape didn't say anything before an amused expression came to his face. "For once, you made my job easier."

"You'll brew it for me?" Harry was barely able to suppress the eager relief in his voice.

"I would think that's rather obvious by now." Snape said dryly.


	12. Chapter 12

**__**

Come the Maëlstrom

  
  
Chapter Twelve  
  
He was starting to remember just why he didn't like the Riddle Mansion, aside from the fact that his last trip here had been less than enjoyable. He was, again, stuck in the same hallway, in front of the same cherry doors. This certainly wasn't the place he wanted to be in during a sunny late afternoon. Perhaps he had been too nervous to notice it the first time but there was a distinct aura of death and delight that steeped the place. It was like a fetid scent that pervaded everything within the walls, even the very air, and it rose his hackles slightly. It didn't help that the Dark Lord had chosen this place as a venue of discussion yet again.  
  
When the door creaked open, he walked in, painfully aware of the cold rage that seethed of the skeletal man before him in the chair. The door shut again with a small creak and Lucius was left standing there like a chastised child.   
  
"Lucius," Voldemort's voice was quiet. "I trust you have…recovered fully now?"  
  
"I have my Lord," Lucius replied with a bow. "You wished to see me?"  
  
"Yes," Voldemort let the silence come, long bony fingers stroking the yew of his wand. "You played a very brilliant move at the Ministry. You've pushed Fudge right where I wanted him, paranoid and just on the edge. The sleeper I have set up under him will be poised to overthrow him as soon as I take Hogwarts."  
  
"I am glad I was able to further your plans my Lord," he inclined his head deeply; keeping Voldemort happy was key as he could still feel the waves of rage. "If I may be so bold my Lord, has any useful information been obtained from the prisoner yet?"  
  
"The prisoner," Voldemort said in a clipped voice. "Disappeared right before my very eyes, snatched away somehow by Dumbledore. She resisted my attempts to glean information from her mind somehow. I learned nothing except for the fact that she owns a farm with her disgusting Muggle husband in the middle of bloody nowhere!"  
  
Lucius made the appropriate sound of regret in his throat. Voldemort chuckled.   
  
"Still as eager as ever I see for a good session of torture. Had you not been ill, that privilege certainly would have been yours. Crabbe," Voldemort's barely existent lip curled. "Lacks your finesse. Only capable of making sure the prisoner didn't escape; he even botched that simple task. I doubt his son will miss him much."  
  
"My Lord flatters me," Lucius bowed. "My skills are merely at your disposal."  
  
Voldemort obviously seemed pleased with this since the rage seemed to subside. "I trust you have your son's letters to you?"  
  
"Right here, my Lord." Lucius reached in his pocket; he couldn't help but wonder what the Dark Lord would say if he knew that those letters were forged; Draco still hadn't replied to his earlier letter.  
  
He approached the desk and enlarged a thin sheaf of papers before placing it on the desk and drawing back. The Dark Lord read through them quickly enough before he tossed them back on the hole-pocked desk.  
  
"Tell me Lucius," Voldemort began slowly. "Aside from your son's surface observations, what is really going on at Hogwarts?"  
  
Lucius took a momentary breath, thanking some nameless deity that he took the time to read the Daily Prophet carefully this morning. "Hogwarts is more fortified that ever, with probably double the number reported in the newspaper. Students must obviously be restricted to the castle alone; children grow restless. They'll manage to find ways in and out of the castle unnoticed. Dissension can easily be sown; children are also prone to fighting."  
  
"Ah," Voldemort mused and made a pleased sound in his throat. "Almost ripe for the picking. Another quickening or two is in order, I believe."  
  
"My Lord?"  
  
"You will not see this part through. You've done more than enough, and your part will come soon enough. Potter must be quivering with righteous outrage by now."  
  
Lucius simply bowed his head in acknowledgement. "Is there anything else I may do for my Lord?"  
  
"You may leave," Voldemort waved a gaunt hand. "However, if you are able to stir up Fudge some more…"  
  
"I understand, my Lord," Lucius bowed once more before taking the letters and slinking from the room.  
  
It didn't take him long to Disapparate from Riddle Mansion and reappear in Knockturn Alley, walking down the cobbled street, clearly in a foul mood. The Dark Lord sounded as if he wanted to strike sooner than anticipated. More than likely, he would by the end of the week. A creak made him look overhead to see a swinging sign bearing the words, '_têté-a têt_'; perfect, he could us a drink before heading back home. As far as he knew, this was the cleanest bar in Knockturn Alley. He found a seat and was sipping a glass of firewhiskey in quiet contemplation of the Dark Lord's madness when a shadow fell over him.  
  
"Imagine finding you here."  
  
Lucius looked up to find somewhat beady eyes and a very familiar pointed beard on a face he didn't want to see for a long while. "Karakoff… and here I thought you wouldn't dare crawl out of whatever cesspool you concealed yourself in."  
  
Karakoff gave a barely withering smile and sat down in the seat facing Lucius. And then he gave a wide smile; the kind of ingratiating, infuriating smile that caused drunk wizards to star hexing one another. It made Lucius' hand itch to jinx him under the table but he kept his hand firmly wrapped around the glass of alcohol. He shifted his gaze to the swirling, and slightly smoking, amber, red and orange contents of his tumbler.  
  
"What?" Karakoff said finally. "Nothing to say to a fellow compatriot?"  
  
Lucius sneered at that. "After you've handled yourself so… admirably over the years, you're lucky I didn't see fit to greet you in an entirely different manner."  
  
"Ah, still sour about that?" Karakoff laughed. "That was a long time ago!" he clapped Lucius on the shoulder.  
  
"Je suis un Malfoy," he said looking at Karakoff's hand as if it were trash. He then turned his gaze to the man. "Nous n'oublions pas."  
  
Karakoff snatched his hand back hastily, with an audible gulp. He gave a chuckle that started off nervous but ended secure. "He needs me at the end of the week."  
  
"Does he?" Lucius mused in a bored tone; he could see the desperate need for validation in Karakoff's eyes. "And just what for?"  
  
"He hasn't told you?" Karakoff asked smugly, a bit too smugly in all actuality.  
  
"He sees fit to make me privy to the more important things in the large scheme. I, for one, don't make a complete mess and utter fool of myself." He let his gaze flickered contemptuously over Karakoff.  
  
Karakoff's face went red, probably angry at having embarrassment and humility crammed down his throat in one swift go. Lucius simply gave him a cool look, daring him to retort back. Karakoff stared down into the depths of his Gillywater for a long while before he spoke.  
  
"He asked me to lead the trip to Hogsmeade."  
  
"How fortunate for you," Lucius scoffed. "Have you been attempting to curry favour for this long and that's the culmination of your efforts? Pitiful, really."  
  
Karakoff gave a scowl to accompany his red face. He downed his Gillywater in one gulp. "You would do well to facilitate this excursion."  
  
"Not when there are other things that I am to take part of." Lucius replied, not even bothering to look at the other.  
  
"I'm sure he'll be glad to know of your reluctance to help."  
  
Lucius simply gave him a predatory smile. "My reluctance stems from your proven record of messing things up. Since you do not seem to notice, let me inform you of your rank, hm? I can't go any higher than I've gone. You would need to spend the rest of you life to get a tiny bit closer to where I am."  
  
"If you say so." Karakoff snorted.  
  
Lucius would have been slightly inclined to believe that had Karakoff's nervous tic made itself know a few seconds later. The pinky finger on his left hand began trembling slightly, despite the rest of him remaining as stiff as a board. It also helped that Lucius knew a bluff when he saw one. Karakoff had been passable at bluffing, but what he was witnessing now… it was painful; it was as if Karakoff were a lame animal suffering. He never thought he would say this but the Dark Lord would inevitably do the humane thing. There was an oxymoronic ring to that, a humane Dark Lord. He gave a dry chuckle and took another sip of his drink.  
  
"Honestly, don't come to play these games with me if you're going to make it this pathetically easy," Lucius smirked with faint amusement. "I'd rather not see my time end up in the trash; there are better things I could be doing."  
  
Karakoff gave him a nasty look. "You won't be so high and mighty all the time," he spat. "Everyone screws up at some point."  
  
"Your logic is reasonable and sound but for one critical flaw."  
  
"And that is?" Karakoff asked sullenly.  
  
"I am most certainly not everyone and I never make a mistake."  
  
And with that, Lucius finished off his drink and tossed a Galleon on the table before leaving the bar. If there was one thing Lucius couldn't quite stand it was desperate men that attempted to make themselves seem much more important that they truly were. While it provided spectacle, it was nothing short of pathetic and a profound disgrace.  
  
The beginnings of a headache were setting in as he Apparated into the front foyer of his manor. Streams of afternoon sunlight drifted in through the windows on the upper level and parlour, while bits of dust lazily made their way down. For a moment, he could believe that this house was rather warm and relaxed; not the seething hotbed of intrigue, power plays and backstabbing that it seemed to become. He found himself faintly wishing that he had been able to raise Draco in a completely different manner, but the most he could manage was to shield and arm him against Narcissa and her undoubtedly damaging emotional manipulation.  
  
His steps whispered against the hardwood floors as he made his way to his library. It was only a few minutes later that he was seated at the desk and had started his research once more. He'd found what appeared to be a promising answer the night before and was rather intent on finding out as much as he possibly could.   
  
It was a good thing that the first owl came before he was too absorbed in the work and that the second owl came right after it. He tossed both letters on his desk, gave the owls obligatory treats and sent them back before turning to the letters. The first one was Draco's; he'd certainly taken his time replying; Lucius had sent a letter almost two weeks ago, when he'd gotten back. The other one was from Severus but it could more than likely wait. He ripped the seal on Draco's letter and opened it.  
  
'_Father,  
  
I talked to Professor Snape and my grade is quite fine. Mudblood be damned. She's nothing more than a buck-toothed annoyance.  
  
While it pains me to admit this, she manages to have her intelligent moments. But her insistence that she's always right, along with other detrimental aspects, leave me with very little to worry about. Let her memorise her books; it certainly doesn't translate into practical experience that can immediately be put to use.  
  
In other words, blunt words to be more precise, stay the hell out of my damned business.   
  
As to your other delicately unphrased request, I'm sure you know it all already. I'm sure you know some fools charged out to fight in the last skirmish here and you probably read it all in this morning's paper, so embellish that to your heart's content.   
  
Other than that, nothing else has changed…well, not that much. Potter's turned up and decidedly different.  
  
We actually have a truce. I'm contemplating his offer of friendship. Try to not have a heart attack or the like.  
  
Draco_'  
  
Lucius snorted and rolled the letter back up. That had been rather amusing to read. He picked up Severus' letter and unrolled it, surprised to find something shrunken fall out. Mildly curious, he laid it aside, and read Severus' extremely short message.  
  
'_Be here tomorrow at 5. I believe I found an answer._'  
  
If there was one thing about Severus' letters, they were awfully succinct. Now, about this thing that had come along with Severus' letter. He pointed his wand at it, causing it to swell to regular size. Both eyebrows raised when he saw it was a sealed envelope and the front bore the initials of, 'LM'. Only someone that brazen would smuggle a message to him through a letter than Severus sent him. He shook his head slightly as he opened the letter and began to read, with a slight smile on his face.  
  
'_Luc,  
  
I'll admit, I had no clue what your lawyer was talking about until I was informed the business card I held was a transfigured letter. I managed to convince Ron it was from Sirius, so everything's fine on that front.  
  
You know, I think you're the only man I know that would send message to his lover deep within enemy territory and through a lawyer no less. Though I did find him rather amusing, as he and I had a small run in with Umbridge. I'm probably gonna sue that hag to get the ban on me playing Quidditch lifted. And to doubly piss her off, I think I will take up Mr. Nihilare on his offer._'  
  
It seemed that Harry was in a very vengeful mood.  
  
'_Things aren't quite the same at Hogwarts and everyone's anxious to know what Voldemort's up to. Though trying to get any decent information from the Ministry mouthpiece is practically impossible, unless they want us to know on purpose. Or they can't cover it up. Like Saturday's incident._'  
  
Lucius couldn't help but snort. They'd certainly have trouble covering that up. Thankfully he'd been ill. What a perfect alibi, hovering between life and death.  
  
'_You know, I'll bet Voldemort was expecting me to morally outraged and practically frothing at the mouth about those attacks in Muggle and Wizarding London. Even with all the fear spreading around the castle, I find that it doesn't affect me all that much. True, it was a terrible thing, but I can't really find it in myself to care. Does that make me a heartless person, knowing what lies at the heart of his actions and what everyone will expect me to do, to accomplish, this time around?  
  
Don't get me wrong, I care for my friends but I find myself wanting a little bit of solitude more now. I don't even have the time I used to for meditation. I can't even have a really private, private life with them. When I was seeing Seamus, Hermione hounded me for every little detail – which I stupidly gave – and Ron got all threatening on Seamus. No small wonder we broke up. And then they wondered why._'  
  
"Stupid really," Lucius frowned.  
  
'_I can just see you saying stupid or something insulting them in some manner, maybe, hopefully, with that charming frown of yours. Yes, I do find your frown charming. Actually, I find myself debating which part of you I like more.  
  
Your mouth says such pretty, filthy things or it can be so wickedly sharp that the pleasure it brings is pained and I can't help but want more of it.   
  
Or maybe it's your mind, where it all springs from, every twisted perverse thought, every dark erotic fantasy that you won't say but want to see fulfilled.   
  
It might be those hands of yours, the way they grasp mine as you come inside me, taut and hard with lines of ecstasy mirrored on your beautiful face or soft gentle and teasing as you run them over my body, searching for something I can only guess.  
  
No, your back is rather entrancing, even though I've seen it only once; the way it ripples and moves, curving with your spine as I jerked you off and you came right on my hand. I could literally see your completion in the way your back relaxed and it made me even harder.  
  
Perhaps your legs and they way they move, controlled power in essence as you stalked towards me on the bed so many nights. Hm, do you know you have elegant feet? They fit you perfectly and the way your toes curl slightly or your feet arch in the throes of passion just accentuates your legs.  
  
No, I think it might be your hair. That glorious blond hair that crowns your head and feels like silk against my skin. Just seeing it bound back made me want to free it and have you fuck me senseless so I can feel it against me.  
  
It could quite possibly be your eyes. That's how I know you want me. They go from light silver to a dark grey like molten pewter and in the afterglow, they go a touch lighter a platinum colour that looks otherworldly, like you have the blood of some fey creature in your veins.  
  
As you can tell, I'm still trying to figure it out. Wonderful, I've just gone and managed to make myself hard. I'm going to have to end this letter here. I think you know what I'm going to do.  
  
Harry_'  
  
"You bloody little poetic cocktease…" Lucius muttered, painfully aware of the half-hard bulge in his pants.  
  
He took one look at his research before he rose abruptly and stalked off to his room. He knew exactly what he was going to do.

* * *

Lucius stepped out the fireplace and found a clock was already chiming the hour of five. The main room of Severus' chambers was an orderly disaster. Stacks of books were arranged on the floor, while every single bit of available table space housed either more books or piles of parchment. He surveyed the area glad for his condensed notes, slim and folded inside his robe pocket. It was so like Severus to have a neat mess. The table in his library looked like a true disaster zone compared to this; researching was the one time when he allowed himself to actually be…well, a slob.  
  
"Took you long enough," Severus said without looking up. "Bloody bothersome bastard."  
  
Lucius reached in his pocket and drew out his work. "How nice to see you too." He said with a condescending smile. "And I even brought you a small token of my appreciation."  
  
Severus' lip curled at that but he shifted aside to allow Lucius somewhere to sit. "Well, let's see it. I haven't got all day! I have tea with Potter again around seven."  
  
Stifling his chuckle, Lucius unsealed the paper with a tap of his wand and spread it out. "From what I've been able to find, the Viscis draught is our best bet. It will undo some of the rituals that the Dark Lord has performed on himself. If done right, it should cut his enhanced magical strength in half."  
  
"He's done rituals," Severus snorted. "So –"  
  
"Fight hexes with hexes," Lucius finished. "He's always having to drink some concoction; he's not going to notice another one."  
  
"Paranoia makes him wary of anything new," Severus began with a smug smirk.  
  
"I'd rather not be accused of poisoning him. Which is why in a day or so, you will inform him that Dumbledore has just discovered an elixir that could be very detrimental to his health and you've taken the precaution of brewing a counterpotion." Lucius couldn't help but smile slightly at the irony of his first sentence.  
  
Apparently the irony wasn't lost to Severus either. "Forget tea with Potter; he just prattles on anyhow. Bloody boy is a nuisance."  
  
"But a useful nuisance nonetheless," Lucius finally said. "Shall I assume you found something? Or have we neglected our work until the last minute?"  
  
"The Falliblis ritual," Severus scowled at Lucius. And probably the best one to use as well in conjunction with yours, as it will amplify the effect of the Viscis draught," Severus' eyes scanned the ingredients lists carefully. "Without causing a notable change."  
  
"How it is that you've been struggling to secure the Dark Arts teaching position is beyond me." Lucius gave him an amused smirk. "However, there is one more, brew I came across, a… different sort of poison. Some clever soul combined Muggle science with poison making."  
  
Severus looked thoroughly annoyed at his disparaging comment but intrigued enough. "Do tell."  
  
"The Cruoris poison. Essentially, it uses Potter's blood against him. He used it that night in the graveyard, so it should be twice as effective since it's a very part of his body. Here." He slid the parchment over to Severus.  
  
There came a long silence as Severus' eyes grew wide as he read what was before him. "Do you realise," he said quietly after a few minutes. "That this is essentially all that is needed?"  
  
"Granted you can obtain some of Potter's blood." Lucius added. "If you can convince him of this method."  
  
Severus snorted. "Dumbledore seemed pleased that the Dark Lord used Potter's blood for the ritual. I think I can get some from Poppy or persuade him by some means." He brought out his wand and a minute later, Lucius found himself holding a list. "This is a list of ingredients you need to… procure for our endeavours."  
  
Lucius looked away from Severus' supremely pleased smirk to scan over the list. His expression went from neutral to mildly displeased. An eyebrow was raised more than once over some of the ingredients. Chimaera scales, dragon blood – right down to the species needed, Kappa fingernails, Runespoor tongues, Snitch feathers… over half this list was difficult enough to obtain through normal channels let alone clandestine ones.  
  
"Surely you don't –" he began.  
  
"Oh but I do. I need you Lucius." Severus trilled mockingly.  
  
It was Lucius' turn to scowl as he folded up the list and slipped it into a pocket. "I'll leave that with you. And I suggest you talk to Potter."  
  
Severus' smug look vanished away completely. "Potter doesn't need to know quite yet."  
  
"Funny," Lucius said dryly as he made his way to the fireplace and grasped a handful of Floo Powder. "You sound almost like Dumbledore."  
  
And with that, he threw down the powder and was hurtling along to his own home. He'd forgotten how enjoyable it was to have the last word in a conversation with Severus.

* * *

**Note** - Je suis un Malfoy. Nous n'oublions pas. = I am a Malfoy. We do not forget. [French] 


	13. Chapter 13

**__**

Come the Maëlstrom

Chapter Thirteen

Harry felt as if he had been on edge for the past two days. Rumours were flying thick and fast around the castle and, as far as he knew and heard, the fear had spread to the Muggle world as well. He was starting to understand what the older members of the Order were talking about when they said it was dark times and no one knew who to trust. Fear was palpable and it seemed that everyone looked at every one else suspiciously in the hallways, especially at the Slytherins.

What made it even worse for him was that he was stuck in here until he was needed to snuff out one insane megalomaniac wizard. Put in such black and white terms, he found it ugly and unstomachable. To top it all off, he didn't know how to kill Voldemort yet. How was he supposed to do in the crazy wizard when he had no idea of how to kill him?

He sighed and rested his head against a wall of the alcove, looking out the window, book in hand forgotten. He'd managed to sneak away and find an empty classroom, draping his invisibility cloak around him in case someone came looking for him. He'd brought the books he had bought in Spain and was reading through the silver one yet again. The alcove where he sat just overlooked the Great Lake and he couldn't help but think that it seemed rather nice outside today. Blue sky, crisp white clouds puffing by and the trees swaying gently in the wind. It was the kind of day meant to be spent outside, not cooped up inside. There was still the courtyard, but everyone went there when they wanted fresh air. He sighed, rested his head against the glass and looked at his watch. It was quarter after four. He'd received a curt note from Snape a day ago to arrive for tea at five.

Closing his eyes, he just sat there, basking in the warmth that filtered through the grass. He could see why certain animals did this. It was very relaxing and –

The sound of the door crashing open startled him and he peered around the corner of the alcove where he was sitting. He got quite a surprise. There, fumbling and gasping was Draco and Blaise. They tripped over a stool and fell to the ground, laughing before it was replaced with the sounds of lips on lips and heavy breathing. Silently, Harry slipped down from his spot and made his way over to the door that wasn't quite closed properly and slipped out. He shrugged his invisibility cloak off, draped it around his neck and closed the door securely behind him only to curse a moment later; he'd forgotten his book inside the room. Well, he could always come back and get it later if anything. After a moment's thought, he cast a few evasion charms on it; it wouldn't do to have them interrupted after all.

"Looks like I'm off to find another room," he muttered.

He was trudging his way up the stairs to the next floor when Ron came charging down the stairs.

"Hey Harry!" he said a bit breathlessly. "How's it going?"

Harry looked at Ron. His clothes were askew and unbuttoned in some places, his pupils a bit dilated and his face flushed red and his normally messy hair was messier than normal. "Fine. Though I should ask why you're running away from a snog."

"It was her idea to catch me," Ron mumbled as his face went red. "So if she comes, you didn't –"

"Roooon!"

Ron cursed and flew down the stairs. Harry just saw him disappear around a corner when a breathless Parvati appeared.

"Oh! Hi Harry! Have you seen Ron?"

Harry gawked at her for a moment before his brain kicked into gear and he pointed down the hallway towards the farthest corner.

"Thanks!" she said and darted away.

Harry watched her and heard Ron's faint cry of, 'Traitor!'. Shaking his head, he continued up the stairs. He must have seen at least three other couples, chasing one another down or snogging enthusiastically. Just when he stepped onto the fifth floor, he found himself grabbed and pulled into a corner. He had his wand drawn and jammed right under the person's ribs in less than two seconds.

"Whoa, calm down, would you Harry?"

He blinked as Seamus leaned forward and came out of the shadows. "Oh, it's just you. What on Earth is going on? Parvati is chasing Ron, Draco and Blaise start… erm… snogging in a room, a pair of Ravenclaws were barely hidden behind that tapestry of Ulfric–"

"Oh, the other houses started on it to, did they?"

"Got started on what!" he demanded in exasperation.

"Lee figured, since this was a day off from, well, everything, that we should have a little fun. Except no one could think of anything to do. And then dear Ginny came the rescue. She suggested we go find the person we liked and go… talk to them."

Harry gaped at Seamus for a moment. "Do you mean to tell me that practically every student in the school is now out to get snogged and, quite possibly, get laid?"

"Maybe. It gets awfully boring being stuck inside for so long, you know Harry?"

He took one look at Seamus before he bolted down the stairs, half-sliding down the railing, half vaulting himself around the corners. He paused only once and found that Seamus was right behind him. Cursing, he kept running and bolted down into dungeons. No way would Seamus attempt to find him down here. He pressed himself flat against the wall, hoping, but once he heard the sound of footsteps he ran deeper in. This was not happening! Had the whole school gone insane! He had to hide out somewhere where no one would bother him. Snape! Snape was a teacher! Snape was above all this! Snape was a greasy git! Snape couldn't get laid if his life depended on it! Snape was his haven from this madness! Besides, he was already in the dungeons and he didn't want to attempt to get past Seamus.

He bolted to the Potions classroom and barged in. It was empty and silent and he closed the door behind him. He pressed his ear to the door, hearing footsteps growing louder.

"Sir!" he called as he ran to the office door. "I think– what the hell!" he froze in horror, transfixed in the doorway as his brain fought to accept what he was seeing. "Oh my God!" he shrieked as he paled in less than a few seconds.

Right there, across the desk, Hermione was snogging Snape of all people.

"Harry!" she gasped in fright as she attempted to push Snape off of her.

"Harry?" Snape looked up. "Potter!" he scrambled off of Hermione.

"I found you Harry!" Seamus crowed as he hugged him from behind.

"All of you are fucking crazy." He said weakly before he fainted dead away.

* * *

A pungent scent made him cough a bit and sit up. He blinked blearily, squinting around. Every thing was so black and blurry. When he saw a pale hand offering something, he assumed it was his glasses. He reached out and took them, sliding them back on gratefully. He found himself looking up at Snape who was standing in front of him. Harry looked down and realised he had been stretched out on a small cot, in Snape's office. He looked around, eyes darting away from the desk where he'd seen the one thing that undoubtedly left him scarred for the rest of his natural life. 

"Welcome back Mr. Potter," Snape said curling his lip as he rolled a stoppered bottle between his fingers.

Harry rubbed the side of his head and looked around with a wince. A clock on the wall proved that the time was almost five o'clock. "How long was I out?"

"A good thirty minutes," Snape replied, walking over to a shelf and pacing the bottle back. "You obviously had quite a shock."

"Really?" Harry said nastily. "Maybe because I go to find some peace and quiet only to be interrupted by Draco and Blaise well on their way to a shag, run into Ron and Parvarti playing… playing foreplay and I find you of all people, snogging my friend right on your desk! You're a teacher! You should be putting a stop to it, not actively participating!"

Snape coughed slightly. "Yes well, I do believe we have Miss Weasley to thank for the eruption of teenage hormones."

"Eruption!" Harry spluttered. "I'm more surprised there wasn't an orgy!" he crossed his arms and seethed on the cot.

"As you were here already, I took the liberty of having tea sent."

Harry's eyes flickered to the set before he grunted in reply. This had been one strange day already, a castle full of horny teenagers and he was now in Snape's office, which was much like a mysterious inner sanctum.

"Wipe that expression off your face," Snape snapped irritably. "I'll make your tea."

Harry simply snarled in response and sat there on the cot, electing to fume. When Snape offered him a steaming mug, he took it with a sour expression.

"Potter what did you think was going to happen in a school filled with teenagers with libidos? Even if this is Hogwarts, there's still only so many places you can go."

Harry simply sat there choosing stony silence as he stared down into his mug.

"Ah, I see now. Potter's too pure to be touched by such sordid matters," he sneered.

"Or Potter's wondering how to get you fired." Harry snapped back.

He'd hit something there and Snape didn't reply for a long moment. "Such a thing should never have occurred. But I'm sure you yourself are well aware of the Gryffindor tendency of stubbornness."

Harry grunted in agreement and drank some tea.

"Miss Granger put that to good use when she broke through the locking spells I placed on my office door for privacy. And she was quite… stringent that I take the time to listen to her."

"My poor virgin ears," Harry mumbled sarcastically. "I don't need to be hearing any of this." He moaned.

"Then suffice it to say that it was –"

"I get the point!" Harry said a bit hysterically before taking another gulp of tea. "Merlin, does Seamus know?"

"Mr. Finnegan, was busy nursing a bruised nose as your head hit him hard when you passed out." Snape said a bit sardonically.

"Good… good…" Harry mumbled, rocking a little bit. "Was there a reason why you wanted to see me down here, Sir?" anything to escape the uncomfortable topic at hand.

"Yes," Snape paused for a moment. "I have cancelled your classes with the cyclops and werewolf for a few days. The werewolf will be covering the classes you do teach."

"Remus," Harry corrected.

"The teaching duo." Snape amended.

"All right," Harry knew that was the only concession he would get from Snape. "What's the catch? I'll bet it's unpleasant."

"Really? And what makes you say that?" Snape asked as he arched an eyebrow.

"This is me. When is the news not unpleasant to some degree?"

"Such cynicism…" Snape tsked in a mocking tone. "But well-founded."

Harry bit his tongue to prevent a pained, 'Oh Merlin, how bad is it!' from escaping. Snape seemed to wait a bit longer, contemplating his tea before he spoke.

"It seems that a method to make the Dark Lord more susceptible to death has made its way into my hands."

"You found this out?"

"A colleague."

"Sad, that's more than Dumbledore even told me." He muttered darkly. "You were saying, Sir?"

"There is a method, a rather unknown and complex poison. It takes a month to brew and requires your blood as the main ingredient."

"My blood?" Harry asked warily. "How much?"

"One pint."

"A pint!"

"There is the Viscis draught and Falliblis ritual if you don't wish to choose that route."

"Viscis…viscis…. I know that one." Harry muttered.

"Do you?" Snape asked archly.

Harry nodded. "It's used to make a change in the magic of a very powerful wizard. It essentially goes right to the core of their magic and depletes it. It basically leaves it like a hollow shell with no telltale signs. That shell is only tough enough until a certain point."

Snape didn't say anything for a long moment.

"See? Just not another pretty face." Harry quipped before taking another drink of tea.

"Apparently you decided to use that dusty brain of yours," Snape snorted. "When used with the Falliblis ritual, a wizard's magic can be crippled even further."

"And just what does the poison do?"

Snape took a deep breath. "I shall assume you have a rudimentary knowledge of Muggle biology, since the main bulk of this poison draws from that."

"All right."

"Since Voldemort used your blood in the ritual that brought him back, your blood is now in key part of him. What this poison does is that it takes your blood and turns it against the person who used it. We make the brew and Voldemort will drink it. It will work its way through his body and poison him at the cellular level. The anaerobic functions of the cell cause the poison to spread through the body quickly and take effect in less than one hour. Once the poison has become widespread enough, the subject will end up in a state of analeptic shock due to poisoned blood flow to the brain through the central nervous system, and is virtually helpless. While this potion is brewed by magical means, it is not affected by magic at all."

Harry blinked in the barrage of this information. "So... once he drinks it, he's dead?"

"Essentially, yes."

"And how long does it take to brew?"

"A month."

"We don't have that kind of time."

"I was getting to that."

Harry took in Snape's sudden reluctance to speak. "Let me guess, Dumbledore will give us that time and we're stuck together in a room?"

"Only a few hours will have passed outside the door. At the very most a day and a half."

"Bloody wonderful," he muttered sarcastically. "And when do we have to do this?"

"Tomorrow morning at six, in the room just beside the statue of Horlfreid the Hunter on the sixth floor. We should be out by the beginning of the weekend, when the Dark Lord makes his move."

Harry didn't say anything for a moment. "He's attacking on the weekend?"

"As far as our sources can tell us, yes. Where and when we don't know."

"So long as he can create enough chaos, he'll attempt to take over. Probably starting with getting rid of me and Dumbledore first." he paused for a moment. "Why don't we just go and get started now?"

"There's one other person who's… assisting in this," Snape said delicately. "With Dumbledore's approval, of course."

"Another person?" Harry said faintly in surprise. It seemed so far fetched that Snape would have someone else helping with this as well.

"They'll be here tomorrow morning. They had to seek out the more… exotic ingredients and things we need."

"Is it someone I know?"

"Only in passing," Snape said cryptically. "You'll find out tomorrow. Now, in regards to the other matter you raised…"

"Yeah?" Harry asked a bit wearily before he took a fortifying gulp of tea.

"I would like to know why you didn't go to your head of house."

Harry didn't say anything for a moment, considering his words. "Professor McGongall is practically Dumbledore's best friend. I wasn't about to take the chance that she might have accidentally let something slip. Not that he'd do anything about it; he didn't the first time." He mumbled.

"I beg your pardon?" Snape demanded with a frown.

"Nothing Sir," Harry said quickly. "Why do you ask? Did you make the potion already?"

Snape didn't say anything before he walked over to a shelf and picked up four long vials from a shelf with a pearlescent sheen to them. A cerulean-green liquid swirled around inside the first one. The second one was a vibrant red colour that appeared to be glowing. The third was a creamy ivory colour and the fourth was an almost transparent yellow."

"This will correct the damage wrought from chronic illness," Snape handed him the yellow one. "This one corrects the nutritional deficiencies," the cerulean-green one was placed in his hand. "This is for the skeletal damage and the red one is for your muscles."

"My muscles?" Harry echoed.

"Yes. Undoubtedly, your bones will grow and stretch a bit and unless you want to be bent over and sore from muscles that are attached by tendons and are too small, you will drink it."

"Should I drink them one at a time?"

"Drink them all at once. The changes will be gradual and will take about a month to set in fully."

Harry nodded his head. "Thank you Sir."

Snape snorted as he finally seated himself in the chair behind his desk. "You're free to leave now."

"Er," Harry glanced at the door. "If it's all right with you Sir, I think I would rather stay here for a bit. It's probably still crazy out there."

* * *

Harry frowned at his watch in the dim morning light. It was a few minutes to six and he was the only one here. He'd peered into the room a bit earlier on to find it empty. He started pacing again, steps echoing in the vaulted hallway. His gaze wandered to the statue of Horlfreid once more, wondering just what it was that he could have possibly hunted. But watching the statue proved just as useless and Harry found himself pacing in front of it restlessly. The seconds seemed to tick by in an agonisingly painful manner. He was so preoccupied that he didn't hear the approaching footsteps or the chuckle of amusement. 

"Fret anymore and you may cause that gorgeous hair of yours to fall out."

Harry paused for a minute before he turned around in disbelief to find Lucius looking down at him with an amused expression and a wrapped parcel in his hand. He opened his mouth to speak but found bits of words coming out. Lucius smirked and leaned in to kiss him, cupping his chin and tilting his head up with his free hand. Harry groaned softly as he kissed Lucius back.

"What are you doing here?" he managed a few minutes later.

"I," Lucius said a bit pointedly. "Am here to help as Severus obviously didn't tell you."

"Well, he said that I might know you in passing." Harry mused. "Is he usually unclear about certain things?"

"It's one of his finer qualities." Lucius replied.

Harry snorted and opened his mouth to speak but stopped as another shadowy figure appeared from around the corner landing. The light was barely enough to show that it was Snape that stalked towards them, obviously looking as if he wanted to be anywhere else other than here, probably in his own warm bed.

"Let's get this over," Snape groused as he walked past them and opened the door. "Dumbledore's coming and we all need to be in here when he casts the spell."

"The door will be sealed shut, right?" Harry asked. "No one can get in or out?"

"Yes," Snape replied irritably. "I explained this yesterday. So hurry in already and stop wasting time."

Harry didn't reply, simply walking in past Snape with Lucius following behind him. Snape jerked the door shut and rested against it with a grunt. Harry took a moment to look around the room. There was a large couch, two armchairs and a large beanbag arranged around a fireplace at a comfortable distance with a coffee table placed within easy reach. Underneath it was a thick pile rug and there was a large blanket folded up on the couch. Off to one wall, he could see two doors. The opposite wall held another two doors, though one was clearly marked with the sign of, "Potions Lab'. Off to his side, he could see a bookcase, filled to capacity with texts. Lucius' gaze flickered to him for a moment before he spoke.

"Now then," he began. "We should –"

"Severus!"

Harry looked at the door as it was thrown up, dumping Snape to the floor unceremoniously. Hermione stood framed there with a bunch of papers in her hands. Her gaze flickered from Snape to him and lit with relief.

"Oh good, you're here!" she held up the papers as she walked towards him. "I've been up all night and I think I've found something very useful."

"You've got to be kidding me!" Harry groaned. "Hermione, you shouldn't be here! Whatever this is," he grabbed the papers and waggled them at her. "I'm sure it can wait."

"I concur," Snape snarled as he closed the door once more.

"Well, I couldn't wait! Who knows when Voldemort may attack again and…" her voice trailed off as she finally noticed Lucius in the room.

A tense silence came that was unfortunately broken by the door opening again to reveal Ron.

"Bloody hell 'Mione! You can't just go running off like that after making me do things! Give a bloke some warning! It's not too much to ask that- what's he's doing here!"

"I find myself asking the same question of you both," Lucius replied coldly, his gaze flickering between them. "An eternally nosy Granger and sidekick Weasley."

Ron's face went a livid red, the kind that usually accompanied him yelling and attempting to curse someone. Harry groaned as he dumped the papers on the box Lucius was holding – it was the closest available surface – and grabbed Hermione's arm while making his way towards Ron. "You both shouldn't be here!"

"Wha-?" Ron looked at him startled.

"Harry, what's going on?" Hermione demanded as she squirmed in his grip.

"Something you two weren't supposed to know about." He replied wearily as he pushed them out the door. "Now let Dumbledore do what he has to do."

And with that he closed the door firmly with a small slam. He rubbed one of his temples as he stepped away from the door.

"I believe these are yours." Lucius said dryly, handing him the bunch of papers.

"Thanks," Harry mumbled. "Is it me or is chilly in here?" he made it sound like he was talking to no one in particular.

"It has to be." Snape replied grumpily. "The poison needs to be brewed in conditions with a temperature of five degree Celsius. However, the charm used applies to all rooms."

"I knew there was some drawback." He muttered, pulling his robes in tighter around him.

A soft glow that none of them had really noticed flared up and burst out to cover the entire door. It shifted between a wide kaleidoscope of colours before vanishing away completely. Then, a moment later, a shockwave passed through the room, followed by smaller ripples. It was a peculiar sensation. As it passed through him, he knew it changed him slightly, he could feel it, and yet he didn't feel any different. He stuck his hands under his armpits as his breath started to condense.

"It just got colder."

"Time acceleration spells cause fluctuations in temperature. It was ten degrees before. It's five now, the temperature needed." Snape explained as he took the parcel from Lucius. "Get settled in your rooms," he gestured to the two doors at the far wall. "And then come to the lab. You'll find the appropriate attire in your rooms."

Harry simply watched as Snape made his way to the lab, leaving the door open a crack. Then he turned his gaze to Lucius, allowing his eyes to wander up the other's body slowly. When he got to Lucius' face, the eyes were narrowed slightly, darkening grey clear as day to see.

"I'd imagine you got my letter," Harry murmured softly.

Lucius' jaw simply tightened.

"Well, we have work to do. We can't exactly have Snape coming out here to find us staring at one another can we?"

And with that he walked to a door with a deliberate swish to his hips and opened it. He could hear the frustrated growl from behind him as Lucius went to the other door. Harry bit his lip in amusement; this was certainly going to be a rather interesting month.


	14. Chapter 14

A/N:

A/N: Well, I have a feeling these are going to be some long replies. So many chapters and then I finally get to reply.

**_Signeus_**: Not for a while I'm afraid. But it is coming, I can guarantee you that.

**_toffee_**: Glad you like it!

**_Shinigami Liliz Black_**: Yup, a whole month. I've been writing out the fic for what happens in that month but I've hit a massive case of writer's block. I blame all the classes for actually being interesting and filling my head with information instead of me being bored to come up with raunchy ideas.

**_lucius sikilmituile_**: Shucks…. lol More chapters here.  
  
**_Strawberry Pavlova_**: Nah, I'm not. Enjoy these chapters!  
  
**_xikum_**: lol More chapters posted! I'm not saying anything on the whole Hermione thing. Lips are sealed on that. Oooh dear, you're treading onto slightly dangerous territory with that thought of yours. If you keep on, you just might give something away. Just how Valencia was able to keep Voldemort out of her mind is explained in a later chapter in a conversation between Harry and Dumbledore. And the fact that Umbridge is only there as an observer is precisely why Harry could talk to her like that. I'm trying to work around my writer's block for the fic that explains what happens in the room for a month. It isn't easy. Androids, Confucius, Chaucher, Japanese word particles and East Asian history continually float around in my head.

**_cottoncandy_**: Thank you. Updates are here!

**_Dyane_**: lol Thanks. I still not used to such… glowing comments, really. I'm glad I could convince you this pairing was possible. Maeglin Yedi did it for me and I thought I would do my bit to spread some Harry/Lucius around. I know, I am horrible for leaving it like that. These new chapters are loooooong overdue, don't' ya think? The fic about what happened in the room should be coming soon… once I get over my writer's block.

**_Punk-FairyDragon_**: Updated! Glad you're enjoying it.

**_Cat323_**: Onwards I go! runs off to type up a bit more

**_leia105_**: lol Glad you like it so much. If you want to love me, um, all right. Worshiping makes me feel kind odd but by all mean preach, spread the Harry/Lucius love around, baby! …….All right, I am laying off the Coke.

**_Peanut Gallery – _****_Alaska_****_'s Own_**: Yeah, cliffies are not fun. Second time I've done it. Soiee.

**_Evia le Fay_**: Updated! Read chapters and be happy. )

**_Mikito_**: Thankies. I have posted new chapters.

**_Rieina Bara_**: Silly me; I'm so used to using acronyms. Heh. Anyways, ETC is Evil Twin City – www. etc. slashcity. Net – where Beloved Enemies (Harry/Lucius), After Class (Harry/Severus) and Canis Major (Harry/Sirius) is now hosted.

You guys are awesome for being uber-patient with me. Guess what? I have five chapters to post. They might be posted at different times; it really depends on how nice wants to be to me. But they **_will_** be posted. Enjoy the five chapters!

**_P.S._** – The side fic will be posted once I work out my writer's block and the finer mechanics of the Cruoris potion. I'm up to page 5 of the rough draft for the thing and I'm not halfway through yet.

* * *

_**Come the Maëlstrom **_

_Chapter Fourteen_

Silence was supposed to be golden. At this particular moment, Lucius found himself wishing for any sort of noise. Even someone dropping their wand would have been welcome. It would have drawn the attention away from him. And all he had simply done was walk out of the room with Harry and Severus with the Cruoris potion tucked inside his robe pocket. They had come out to find Albus standing there with Ron and Hermione.

Their gazes first fell to Harry in shock. And then they snapped right to Lucius, with a rabid sort of protective look in their eyes. This was the silence he wanted gone. Weasley was the first one to break it.

"What the hell did you do to Harry, Malfoy?" he demanded furiously, wand drawn and face a glowing red. 

Lucius couldn't resist the urge to sneer slightly. "He looks perfectly fine to me Weasley. Disgustingly healthy if I do say so myself; for once in his life that is. What a change of company can do for a person..."

Ron growled and lunged at him and he took a step back, reaching for his wand when Harry stepped in and stopped Ron easily with two hands gripping the shoulders.

"Don't, Ron," Harry said slowly and quietly. "He's done us a major favour; we owe him now. We. Owe. Him."

"Argh..." Ron looked as if he was forcing down something very bitter and very difficult.

After a long moment, Ron cast one last malevolent glare at Lucius before stomping off down the hallway.

"Come on Harry," Hermione said as she tugged lightly on Harry's arm, eyeing Lucius uneasily. "I'll explain it to you. It's been a long day and it hasn't been very good one for Ron..."

Lucius pursed his lips together slightly as he looked at Severus. "Are there any particulars I should be informed of?"

"Hm?" Severus looked back at Lucius, clearly startled from watching the trio disappear around the corner.

"Is there anything I should know about the potion?" Lucius repeated; this had to be the first time in the twenty five years that he'd known Severus that he _ever_ had to repeat himself.

"Nothing much really. It's good for three weeks and should be ingested a few hours beforehand. Other than that... no other stipulations."

"Good," Lucius said easily as he tugged a wrinkle from his robe sleeve. "Now that our business has been completed, I believe I should –"

"Join me for a cup of tea?" Albus said suddenly.

Both Severus and Lucius looked at Albus slowly. Severus stepped back, muttering something about Lucius having to deal with the old man for once and slipped past them for the downwards staircase. Lucius watched him for a moment, wondering if that was driven by exasperation of the old man or if he simply couldn't deal with him at all. He turned his attention back to Albus who was looking at him expectantly.

"I believe I should take my leave before I have the pleasure of running into Dolores Umbridge." He finished crisply.

"Not to worry," Albus replied easily. "I asked Remus to keep her occupied for a bit." He gestured to the staircase.

Lucius snorted but made his way down. It was the only way to get out of the building from the sixth floor anyhow. Albus followed behind him, humming some strange tune. What was Albus thinking, sending in the werewolf to deal with Umbridge? Despite Lupin's fairly easygoing nature, he wondered how the man was going to keep Umbridge occupied for so long in a manner that didn't include some form of bodily harm and or torture. They stepped onto the second floor landing and before long the familiar gargoyle came into view. It sprang aside as Albus walked up to it with a grin on its already leering face. Lucius wasn't sure how that was possible and he didn't want to know.

Albus made his way to the seat behind the desk, easing into it with a soft sigh. Lucius sat down in one of the guest seats a bit gingerly while Albus waved his hand in front of a tray and a tea set appeared.

"Something to drink?" Albus offered.

Lucius shook his head slightly. "No, thank you."

Albus gave him a chiding look. "You would deny having a cup of tea with an old man?"

"Fine. Half a sugar, touch of cream," Lucius replied with a slight scowl. What Albus wanted from him was starting to grate on his nerves.

Albus smiled as he fixed Lucius' cup of tea before sliding it across the desk. Lucius took it and sipped politely while Albus fixed his own cup up and started looking over the biscuits. By the time Albus finally picked one, Lucius had taken another polite sip of tea. Nothing was said as Lucius contemplated the opaque depths of his tea and Albus happily munched his way through three biscuits and drank his tea. He gave a satisfied sigh as he drank the last dregs and started fixing himself another cup.

"Now that you've temporarily sated your appetite..." Lucius said simply, placing his cup on the table as well.

"You haven't drank your tea."

"I've drank enough."

Albus shrugged as he reclined slightly in his chair, stirring the sugar in his tea. "This was the only opportune time I could have this talk with you and not arouse any sort of suspicion."

"And why, in Salazar's name, would you want to have a talk with me?" Lucius mused in a slightly disdainful voice.

"Why, to thank you," Albus replied with a twinkle in his eye. "I don't scheme all the time."

That was a partiality if Lucius ever heard it; this old man was _always_ scheming. "I highly doubt you have brought me up here and gone through all of this," he gestured at the tea set. "In order to give me a simple thank you. What's your true motive behind this?"

The twinkle in Albus' eyes died down a little. "I did wish to thank you for your help. It is quite invaluable and without it –"

Lucius gave an impressive scowl. "Skip the pleasantries."

"As you wish," Albus said after a moment. "I wished to talk to you concerning afterwards."

Lucius had a distinct feeling that he should have seen this one coming. "And? What of it?"

"While the help you have provided us with has proved invaluable, I doubt many others would believe it to be a genuine act, or even view it in the same light as Harry or I,"

Lucius felt a bit irritated that Albus dared to speak of himself and Harry in the same sentence. It took a lot of gall to sit there and say something like that, as if you yourself had done nothing wrong at all to a person who had once been nothing more than a helpless baby.

"I do not know for sure if assistance would be readily available to you afterwards."

He should have expected as much. The time when Albus wasn't willing to stick out his wand into danger just happened to be _this_ one time; this one time that comprised of very little danger in actuality compared to the mess that vouching for Severus Snape had caused. Nothing was coincidence with this man. He simply chose to accept the help of a particular Death Eater and then turn his back as if they weren't needed anymore; an expendable commodity. At least with Voldemort, you always had an idea of where you stood. Albus was like dealing with quicksand in a small desert; by the time you found out, it was too late to do much of anything about it. In some ways, Voldemort was much more humane than Albus.

"I see." Lucius said politely before he rose from his seat a bit stiffly and made his way to the door.

"Lucius,"

He paused but didn't turn around, not saying anything.

"I really did want to thank you for your assistance. We couldn't –"

Lucius wasn't about to stand in that room and listen to Albus finish that sentence. He simply walked out and closed the door behind him.

"What a load. You certainly have a funny way of showing your gratitude, Headmaster." He muttered in a vicious sarcastic tone as he walked down the steps.

His mind was already turning over the possibilities. While having a testimony from Albus on his behalf would simplify things, it wasn't exactly needed. He just needed to walk a finer line in order to walk away a free man. His reputation might suffer a bit but he would be free and as far away from Azkaban as humanly possible. Draco and Narcissa...well, he would address that issue when it arose. All in all, he would probably leave England all together, and come back only to summer here.

It still stung him though; out of all the people Albus chose to help, he chose to turn his back now. It stung even more that these people that had overlooked him when he actually wanted the aid in breaking free from Dark Lord in the early days were now the ones that despised and spit on him for being the Dark Lord's top Death Eater.

He stepped onto the second floor and was immediately struck by the emptiness of it. It seemed off to not have the hustle and bustle of students along with the accompanying swell of their voices. Sunlight was streaming in through the windows and minute motes of dust were lazily winding their way down in the late afternoon. It seemed a bit eerie.

The sound of running steps caught his attention and he looked up to find Harry flying down the steps from the third floor, jumping the last few to land easily on the landing. Lucius didn't say anything as Harry looked at him intently. The growth spurt that Harry hit was nothing short of magnificent. He'd shot up an additional four inches and was now just an inch short of meeting Lucius. His features had sharpened a bit and played up to a rugged yet refined sort of elegance. His long hair now reached his shoulders and was loosely bound back and his face was thrown into sharp profile, accented by the few strands that broke free. Those eyes seemed to be a darker green and the lashes and eyebrows a bit sootier. So maybe he was exaggerating on those last two a little bit but Harry looked like sex on two legs; two legs that seemed to stretch on forever and had to be finely muscled, as well as the rest of him, judging the way the clothing fit on his body. Salazar, he could just imagine the rest of his body...

"Where are you off to now?" Harry asked a moment later.

"I was hoping the Ministry but I believe that may have to wait until tomorrow at this hour. Fudge seems to be especially stupid at this time of day."

"Oh," Harry swallowed a bit, still looking at Lucius. "Well, be careful..."

For the first time in his life, Lucius was finding it fairly difficult to breathe. It seemed to him that his breath rasped in and out of his lungs loud enough for the giant squid to hear outside. It felt like something was smothering him inside.

"Yes, because Salazar knows that the worst will happen when I get there." He managed.

Something flashed in Harry's eyes. "I know I don't have to worry about you. I hate the fact that you make me this worried and... and I just can't help it."

Lucius heard the faint step of his feet starting to move across the floor towards Harry. Harry's eyes never left Lucius and his chest was moving far too rapidly now to be attributed to lack of breath from running.

"I hate the fact that I'm stuck in here, so... so... useless until... and then..." he trailed off in a hoarse voice.

"You hate it all don't you?" Lucius murmured softly as he came to a halt in front of Harry. "You want it to be done and over with... you want to escape."

Harry nodded, looking at his hands for a moment. "They all look at me like..." his eyes moved back up to Lucius' face. "But you..."

Lucius looked at Harry for a long moment before he realised exactly what it was he was seeing there and recognised it in himself. That realisation that this could very well be the last time they saw one another before the battle. And that this could well be their very last time together. It all seemed to crash over Lucius like a tsunami and he felt as if it was even harder to breathe the stifling air.

He was the first one to crack. He grabbed Harry and crushed him against him before delivering a bruising kiss. Harry whimpered and kissed him back just as hard, pressing himself even tighter. Lips were mashed, teeth were scraped and tongues slid against one another in a harsh battle before Lucius pulled away abruptly and breathless.

"Your fr–"

"Gone. And Ernesto and Valencia are asleep already," Harry murmured as he started nibbling his way down Lucius' neck and undoing robe buttons. "I have a suite on the third floor."

"Umbridge?" Lucius said in an unsteady voice as Harry started moving to his collarbone.

"Do you think I want to be bothered about the bint now?" Harry muttered as he drew back for a moment and looked at Lucius. "Merlin, I'll worry about getting you out of here later. I want you now like you would not believe...I just want you..." he started up the stairs.

"Hm," Lucius followed after him. "For once," he murmured as he leaned in and nipped Harry's neck once they reached the third floor landing. "I applaud your foolish Gryffindor bravery."

* * *

Lucius was very accustomed to rising early. What he wasn't accustomed to was having to leave a place around five in the morning at the crack of dawn after not getting any sleep at all during the night. It had been rather gentle the second time afterwards, until Harry mentioned one of his former boyfriend's attempt on him. That riled up his jealous side and the entire night was a blur of words, pleas, hisses, bites, Parseltongue, conjured silk ties, gasps, moans and the sound of flesh smacking against flesh, anything to mark Harry as his and his alone in some way.

Leaving Hogwarts hadn't been much fun in the slightest; stalking his way under an invisibility cloak to the statue of the one eyed witch while being led by Harry was not his ideal way of sneaking out of the castle. After a rather impassioned kiss, he had to slither down a cramped passageway that deposited him in a pitch black room. He pushed up on the stone above his head and found himself in a basement of some sort. When he walked up the stairs, he found himself in Honeyduke's. The entire shop was silent and he managed to slip out into the street. He walked out of town close to the Shrieking Shack before he Apparated home.

No one was up when he arrived in the front hallway. Narcissa didn't come descending on him with some new gripe and there was no sign of Bwink anywhere. Deciding to not stick around to see if anyone did show up, he hurried up to his chambers and stripped off before soaking in the bath for a bit. A quick change of clothes two hours later, a small vial of Pepper-Up potion to remain alert for a bit longer, fending off Bwink's teary, vocal protestations that she was worried about her wonderful Master and an excellent breakfast, he found himself stepping out of the fireplace into the Ministry of Magic lobby.

"Morning Mr. Malfoy; you're here early."

He simply let his eyes flicker over the watchwizard before he held his hand out for his clearance badge. The watchwizard's face went red and the badge was promptly handed over quickly. Lucius pinned it to his robe and made his way over to the lift. Honestly, if that was all the guard they left during the night, any idiot with a wand could break in here. It certainly hadn't been that hard the last time when the Dark Lord had ordered him to ambush Harry in the Department of Mysteries.

Bored, he pressed the button for the lift, waiting for it to come down. It arrived rather promptly and he stepped in. The doors were just closing when a freckled hand was stuck in. The doors opened once more to reveal the flustered face of Percy Weasley. He looked a bit shocked to see Lucius in the lift but he must have brushed it aside as he stepped in, a large, overstuffed portfolio banging against his leg.

"Malfoy." He said with a curt nod of his head.

"Weasley." He acknowledged.

The entire ride up to the first floor was tense and awkward with the sound of one lone memo flapping overhead. Once the doors opened on the first floor, Percy hurried out, heading in the direction away from Fudge's office. Lucius arched an eyebrow in surprise; considering how the third eldest Weasley had been unable to pry himself away from Fudge's side in the first year of his new position, this was a surprise. And he could still recall the look in Percy's eyes during his interrogation. He and Fudge must have had a falling out of some kind.

With a dry snort, he walked down the hallway until he came to the door with the ornate plaque of 'Cornelius Fudge – Minister for Magic'. He sneered, and was just about to turn the doorknob when a flurry of noise made him turn to look. Percy seemed to be attempting to get into the lift with files spilling from his hands. His four free fingers were clutching his wand and barely keeping them all off the ground, but fluttering around his feet. He looked away, turned the doorknob and walked in. The dry sitting room greeted him as well as the new assistant who was sitting in Percy's former seat.

For a fleeting moment Lucius was truck with the impression that this girl could be related to either Umbridge or Trelawney. Neither prospect seemed preferable. He cleared his throat and managed a polite but charming smile as he walked up to the desk as the girl looked up at him.

"I was wondering if the Minister was in." he asked, fingers starting to stroke his cane absently.

"He's taking an important firecall at the moment, Mr..."

"Malfoy."

"Mr. Malfoy." A steady flush crept up the girl's pasty face. "He's been talking to Miss Umbridge for the past forty minutes. If you want, you can take a seat and wait." She gestured to the chair that looked extremely uncomfortable.

"No, that's quite all right, Miss..."

"LeCron."

"Miss LeCron. Tell him to feel free to firecall me when he has a free moment, if he can be bothered to."

"I'll make sure to tell him." She said with a smile.

Lucius nodded his head and turned to leave before he turned back around. "If I may be so bold," he asked a second later. "What happened to the... other assistant that used to be here?"

"Percy Weasley?" Miss LeCron gave a highly disapproving sniff. "He went to work for the Wizengamot. They have a branch in the ministry. They just have him here spying. He was working for them for at least a year on the side. When Minister Fudge found out, he was mad. Fired him on the spot. So far as I know, Weasley still works for them," she glanced back at the door. "So far as I know, Weasley accused the Minster of some horrible untrue things. That's why he got fired."

Lucius had a very good feeling that whatever Percy had accused the Minister of had been true to every last word. An ambitious wizard wasn't apt to screw up what could be a very promising bureaucratic career. He scrutinised the girl with feigned interest.

"And how long have you been in this position?"

"A few weeks now. My aunt's cousin recommended me," Miss LeCron beamed. "Dolores was so kind to get me this position."

"Ah, Miss Umbridge," Lucius managed to not look horrified or revulsed. "And I suppose you have her same... zeal for the job?"

Miss LeCron took that as a compliment and giggled. Lucius found that the sound immediately raised his hackles. "Oh yes! Minister Fudge is wonderful! I couldn't imagine working anywhere else."

Lucius watched Miss LeCron for a moment; so Fudge now had himself two lapdogs. "I can't help but wonder how such a talented young witch was able to secure such a plum position in the Ministry in such a trying time. You must have some very good friends in some very influential places."

"I suppose that's thanks to Dolores. I told her I was willing to do just about anything to work with Fudge. She made a few firecalls and a few meetings later..." she shrugged.

"How fortunate for you," Lucius inclined his head genially. "It's refreshing to see such enthusiasm for one's occupation in one so young."

"Thank you!" Miss LeCron said a bit breathlessly. "I'm learning from Minister Fudge; he's a very tough teacher but it'll all be for the best in the end!"

Lucius didn't reply as Miss LeCron stiffened for a moment, as if she said too much. "Yes, I'm quite sure the Minister has everything under control and needs not fear the Dark Lord and what he has planned, correct?"

"Quite right," she said a bit stiffly, and looking back down at her parchment covered desk. "Quite right indeed Mr. Malfoy. If that is all..."

"I wish you luck in your... new position then," Lucius bowed slightly. "And hope that no... misfortune befalls you. Please tell the Minister to firecall me as soon as possible."

"I'll do that." Miss LeCron said curtly as she leafed through the stack of parchment.

Lucius turned and walked to the door with a smirk on his face. How relieving that it wasn't Percy he didn't have to deal with. Silly idealistic young witches were much easier to deal with rather than an ambitious young wizard out to make a name for himself. He walked back to the lift and pressed the button. The sound of a commotion from down the hallway came a moment later as Percy approached with another armload of files. Lucius smirked as Percy came to a halt, looking red-faced and winded. Those blue eyes narrowed slightly in anger before he looked stonily ahead.

"Working overtime?" Lucius asked softly in a mocking tone.

"More than you could possibly say. I haven't seen you lurking around in the Department of Ministry Investments lately. You're on the verge of being fired."

"Yes, I suppose I should worry because I am in dire need of the funds." Lucius replied in a bored tone.

Percy's face went red just as the lift arrived with a 'ding'. A few memos zipped out and some zipped in as they stepped on, Percy struggling to push the button with his arms full. The doors closed and Lucius watched as the numbers ticked down slowly. He watched as the numbers drew closer to Percy's floor before he cleared his throat.

"I believe you should take a look at your replacement's credentials."

"What?" Percy looked at him in surprise.

"Are your ears caked with filth, Weasley? Inspect her qualifications."

The tips of Percy's ears went bright red at that and the lift's 'ding' told them that they had arrived at the fifth floor. Once the doors opened, Percy stepped out and turned to face Lucius.

"What exactly do you mean?" he asked.

"You heard me the first two time you dolt." Lucius lifted his cane and pressed the button for the doors to close once more.

He had the great satisfaction of leaving the truly smart Percy Weasley looking absolutely stunned and in a state of shock. He chuckled softly as the lift started back down. For once, he'd managed to finish his business here in record time. Now, he was going to head back home and catch up on some sleep.


	15. Chapter 15

**_A/N_**: Sorry to be switching again, but the slashes don't work and now the pointy brackets (for lack of a better word) aren't showing up for me either. So it's little dashes - text - for when Spanish is spoken. Sorry once again. I really don't mean to change it around but that's what's showing up.

* * *

**_Come the Maëlstrom_**

_Chapter 15 _

"All right, I want to see some nice bright silvery Patronuses." Harry called out even though he had a feeling he was about to be disappointed.

Every student looked at him for a moment before each attempted to summon the spectral protectors. Most people had filmy indistinct shapes while a few had fairly clear shapes or indistinguishable blobs of silver. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He was just at his wits end with the third year group of students. They had been stuck with Patronuses at this level a good two weeks before he went into the rooms. And coming out, it was all still the same. He sighed. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that it was almost ten in the morning, but he didn't have the patience for this today; certainly not at this time of the day. To hell with what Hermione might say, he was done.

"Just pack it in for now," Harry said a moment later. "Be back here around seven, after dinner; we'll pick it up then."

And, as there was no one with any form of jinx, hex or curse to remove, Harry was the first one from the Room of Requirement. He could hear the students streaming out, the voices soft and muted with worry. It sounded a bit odd to hear the hallways filled with voices again. When he had come out the room, it was all deathly silent. Ron had been the one to tell him that the insane antics of that one day had caused the teachers to place a day-long lockdown as punishment on the respective houses. Hermione hadn't even been able to look him in the face without going beet red.

He stretched and linked his fingers behind his head as he walked down the hallway and started down a surprisingly empty flight of stairs. Since he had just managed to free up a good thirty minutes for himself, he'd probably –

"Oi! Potter!"

He turned at the sound of Draco's voice to find the blond Slytherin run up to him. He watched him for a moment before he continued walking.

"What? Can't wait?" Draco snapped as he caught up.

Harry's eyes flickered down for a moment. "I doubt your legs are broken and you were already running. What were a few more steps?"

Draco snorted. "I believe this is yours."

"So it is," Harry said as Draco held out the gold book. "I was wondering where it had disappeared to."

"Blaise found it."

"Did he?" Harry looked at Draco with a slight smirk. "Before or afterwards?"

"Bloody hell," Draco cursed. "How long were you in that room for?"

"Not long when you both got in there," Harry grinned. "Once you two started grinding on the floor, I was closing the door and locking it."

Draco's cheeks went an unbecoming colour of pink. "Yes, well..."

"Is that why you got worked up when I said I was looking at Blaise?"

Draco's face turned an even deeper shade of pink.

"Oh, so it was."

"Lay off Potter."

"As you wish," Harry said simply as he leafed through his dog-eared book. "But next time, make sure the room is empty."

"Rather hard to do that when you're having the best snog of your life." Draco snapped.

"Must have been to make you forget discretion," Harry mused. "Well, you gave me back the book. You don't need to stick around any longer than necessary."

"Hmph," Draco crossed his arms. "Too bad; you're stuck with me Potter."

Harry arched an eyebrow. "Taking me up on that offer?"

"I'm not a stupid man. As I was the one to offer friendship first, you're lucky I bothered to accept your offer. Even if it is six years too late."

"You know," Harry couldn't help but grin. "You could have picked a shorter way to say yes."

"What?" Draco sputtered. "I didn't –"

"There's more than one way to say yes you know." Harry said quietly. "You should be careful of how you say things."

"And just how did you learn that?" Draco demanded.

"Do you really want to know?" Harry asked, looking at him.

Draco shrugged. "Why not."

"I said something I thought was completely innocent, gave my word and next thing I knew, I was tied to a bed."

It was Draco's turn to regard Harry for a moment before he gave a lewd smirk. "Potter, you kinky bastard."

Harry's face went a bit red. Lucius had certainly taught him the many ways to say yes yesterday night. He coughed a little bit as he adjusted the top of his robe; he didn't need anyone to see that bite mark between his neck and shoulder. "So, just how long am I stuck with you for?"

"As long as I feel like," Draco said easily.

"Hm, then you're being dragged with me to see Professor Lupin."

"Lupin?" Draco rolled his eyes. "Don't you have anyone else to talk to? Like Mudblood or Weasel?"

"Hermione and Ron," Harry said sternly. "Are busy teaching a class at the moment."

"Shouldn't you be teaching one now?"

"I should. But three weeks of Patronuses with no improvement finally got to me." Harry replied with a shrug.

"Well, I certainly have no interest in waiting while you speak to Lupin," Draco said lazily. "I'll be in the courtyard later if you can be bothered to haul your lazy ass down there for once."

Harry couldn't help but chuckle as Draco made his way down a hallway with a few milling students. Now, if he remembered correctly, Remus had a class that should have been finishing up around now, on the sixth floor. He was just stepping onto the flight of stairs when a large bunch of students made their way down. Yup, Remus' class must have been finishing up. He waited by the door until all the students had filed out. He waited a few minutes longer before he knocked on the door and stuck his head in.

"Professor Lupin?"

"Harry!" Remus looked a touch tired but pleasantly surprised. "Come in!"

Harry gave a momentary grin as he stepped into the room and looked around, making his way closer to Remus. "Nice room."

"It reminds me of the DADA classroom," Remus started packing away some instruments. "Shouldn't you be teaching a class right now?"

"I should. But I don't think they were quite up and awake. I know the Room of Requirement is free at seven just after dinner, so I told them to meet back there at that time." He paused as Remus looked at him curiously. "Is something wrong?"

Remus didn't answer for a moment as he stepped closer to Harry. Then he took a deep breath and frowned. "Harry, are you seeing Seamus again?"

"Seamus? No."

"Oh," Remus' brow furrowed as he took a small sniff. "No...it's not Seamus. Weird..."

"What's weird?"

"The way you smell."

"The... way I smell?" Harry asked a bit weakly.

"Yes, the way you smell." Remus said flatly. "I thought it might have been my imagination the first time but it's much stronger on you now."

"Um...what is?" Harry asked; apparently taking an hour long shower wasn't good enough to fool a werewolf's nose.

"That scent," Remus frowned. "I smell a whiff of it all over the school every now and then. But now, it's all over you. Like someone's marked you."

"Marked me?"

Remus nodded. "You're sure you and Seamus..."

"I'm positive." Harry said, feeling mightily embarrassed. "You're sure it's not from me hitting a growth spurt?"

Remus nodded his head. "Albus told me and Moody the reason why you had to go into the room for the day. So, I half expected you to have changed, and you certainly smell more...well, for lack of a better word, mature. But this other scent... no, someone has definitely marked you. Very strong pheromones too."

He managed a very light chuckle. Lucius had told him that traces of Veela blood from his great grandmother ran in his veins but Harry didn't put much stock in it; just what could traces do exactly. But now, with what Remus was saying, telling Lucius about Seamus' attempt on him wasn't the brightest thing. In retrospect that is, when it was all useless to act upon.

"Well, considering how crazy it was in the school a few days ago, some of it might have rubbed off on me; those phero-things that is."

"That's a possibility," Remus mused. "But still..." he trailed off, scrutinising Harry.

"First you were worrying about me growing and now you're worried about me being marked? Do you ever stop worrying about me?"

Remus chuckled in embarrassed amusement. "I suppose not. Your well being is something I take very seriously."

"Hm, speaking of which," Harry said, seizing the perfect opening. "I was wondering if you've heard of someone."

"Who is this someone?" Remus asked turning his attention back to packing away the things.

"A barrister; Valerian Slean Nihilare."

Remus glanced at Harry for a moment. "How do you know about him?"

"I bumped into him in a hallway one day. He was here at the school to deliver something. So you do know about him?"

"He's well known in many circles. A very good lawyer if you can manage to secure his services."

"He isn't one of those high-priced ones?"

"He works on a sliding scale," Remus explained. "And does plenty of pro bono work. He's almost always working, which makes it hard to get him to represent you; unless you can afford to have him on retainer. Why, were you thinking I should talk to him?"

"Yeah, it did occur to me." Harry said.

"Considering the cases he's won on behalf of werewolves that have set precedence, he's done more than enough for me."

"But –" Harry began.

"Harry, if it wasn't for that man, I couldn't even consider the hope of employment. Trust me, he's done enough." Remus snapped the case shut and looked at his watch. "Now, Miss Granger should be done teaching in about five minutes. And it will probably take her about five minutes to find out what you did. Perhaps avoiding her wrath is a good idea." Remus smiled. "Do you think you could spare a few minutes to nip down to the kitchen for a cup of tea or cocoa?"

"I think I can manage that before I have to flee for my life." Harry chuckled.

* * *

The soft murmur of Spanish greeted him as he walked into his rooms. He had a long day. After talking to Remus over a cup of cocoa and fleeing back to his rooms for a good hour to avoid Hermione, he had a few more classes to teach before everyone packed off for dinner. That was when he chose to head down to the courtyard for some fresh air. Apparently Draco had the same idea, and they spent a good forty minutes talking while insulting one another. It didn't matter as much since most of the barb and venom was gone but he was still prickly when Draco called Hermione a Mudblood and Ron by Weasel. But other than that, you wouldn't have thought that they had been enemies for the past six years. Then he went back to deal with the third years who did a much better job with their Patronuses.

- Oh! There you are! - Ernesto called from his seat on the couch as Harry walked by the parlour. - We saved you some dinner! -

He smiled and made his way in, looking at the covered tray. - And what's dinner this time? -

- A feast fit for a king, - Valencia said as she placed a hand on the cover and removed it with a flourish. - Baked chicken and macaroni and cheese. All made from scratch mind you. -

- By Dobby you mean, - Harry said.

- Let her enjoy not cooking for once! - Ernesto hissed.

- Still made from scratch though, - Valencia said. - I asked what brand Dobby used. He was very offended by that. Said it was only made from the freshest ingredients for Harry Potter. -

Harry laughed. - That sounds like Dobby. - He picked up the fork and prodded the noodles in their sauce. - It's cold. Isn't there a charm on the food? -

- Well, we figured you'd be back in time, so she asked Dobby not to charm the food. - Ernesto explained.

- Interesting how it went from we to just me. - Valencia said dryly. - We can ask Dobby to get you a hot plate can't we? If it's not too much trouble for him that is. -

- He'll probably knock himself out silly doing that, - Harry muttered. - I'll just warm it up myself. -

- You can do that? You know the right spell to use? - Ernesto asked.

- Considering the amount of food I've snuck from the kitchens, I know the charm pretty well, - Harry grinned as he drew his wand. "Calora." He said, aiming it at the plate's contents.

Almost immediately the food exploded, spattering them and the room in cheese sauce, noodles and bits of chicken. Harry blinked at the plate in surprise while, a moment later, stifled laughter came from Ernesto and Valencia. He looked at them, feeling his face go red.

"Oh. That's new." He said a bit stupidly.

Ernesto looked at him and roared with laughter, tears streaming down his face. - That's what you said last night! -

Harry was even more puzzled until Valencia leaned over and patted his knee with a cheesy hand.

- I don't know how you managed to sneak him in, but you two certainly weren't quiet. I suppose you forgot to put up one of those silencing things on the room. -

Immediately, Harry wanted the couch to swallow him whole. He wanted to vanish away into nothing; anything to not exist at this particular moment in time. This couldn't possibly get any worse.

"Harry!" Bucephalus bellowed from the hallway. "Hermione's here demanding to see you."

He stood corrected. "Tell her I made a mess and I'm cleaning it up. I'll be eating dinner afterwards, so she'll have to come see me tomorrow!" he called. "Plus she's out after curfew... surprising for her... and that she actually wants to see me, even if it is to yell at me." He grumbled as he wiped some cheese sauce from his face. - That's odd... my wand's never done that before. -

- Well test it on something then, - Ernesto looked around the room before he bounded from his seat and seized a vase and placed it on the table. - Here. Try something on this. God knows it's hideous enough. -

- Ernesto, that's a baroque style vase! It's gorgeous! - Valencia protested.

- It's a hideous eyesore. How about you blow it up? - Ernesto suggested easily with a grin.

- Erm... - he glanced at Valencia; he had thought the vase was rather ugly.

She threw up her hands with a disgusted sound. - Just be careful. You blew up the food. I don't think we all want to be showered with bits of that vase... -

Harry nodded his head, trying to think of something simple. "Oh, I know. Wingardium Leviosa."

He said the words gently and prodded his wand forward. The vase leapt from the table, almost reaching the far wall before it smashed to pieces on the ground. Harry blinked and looked at his wand in puzzlement, while Ernesto cheered the demise of the vase and Valencia sighed heavily. Just what was going on with his wand? It had never acted like this before. He frowned as he rose slowly.

- Harry? - Valencia called.

- I'm popping out for a bit. I should be back soon. - he said absently as he walked down the hallway and out the rooms.

He was still staring at his wand, debating just who he should ask. There was Remus, but he looked much more tired than usual and the full moon was approaching. And he certainly didn't feel like bothering Snape or McGonagall; Merlin knew he pestered Snape with enough already. He certainly didn't want to go see Dumbledore about this. He was so busy pacing around outside his portrait that he never noticed the shadows that settled over him.

"Mr. Potter, what do you think you're doing outside your chambers after curfew?"

He gulped and turned around to find Snape and McGonagall standing there looking at him. The stern expressions on their faces dissolved once he turned around.

"Potter," Snape asked after a moment. "What are you covered in?"

"My dinner." He said a bit sheepishly, realising he hadn't cleaned himself up.

McGonagall tsked and waved her wand, vanishing the cheesy mess. "Now, just how did you get your dinner all over yourself?"

Harry looked between them both. "I cast a charm to heat it up and it exploded."

Both McGonagall and Snape raised their eyebrows. Snape coughed politely, obviously refraining from saying something.

"Perhaps you cast the charm a bit too forcefully?" McGonagall suggested as she glanced at Snape momentarily.

"No, I doubt that. I've used it loads of times before when I snu- erm, this has never happened to me before."

Snape already had a shrewd gleam in his eye. "Didn't you have an appointment with Longbottom, Minerva?"

"Oh yes," McGonagall sighed. "Third one this week. He's been reacting strangely to all this pressure. Will I need to deal with you later on Mr. Potter?"

"No Professor." He said.

"Then back to your chambers you go." McGonagall said before she hurried up the stairs.

Harry watched her go before he looked back at Snape a bit uncertainly. Snape was scrutinising him like a hawk and he was starting to feel distinctly uncomfortable. Like he was being poked and prodded under some sort of microscope.

"Follow me, Potter." He finally said turning on his heel.

A bit unsure, Harry followed after him. Snape lead him down to the dungeons to his classroom and shut the door before striding to the front. Harry lingered back at the door, wondering just what was going on.

"Get up here," Snape snapped irritably once he saw where Harry was. "I assure you nothing will happen to you. If I had planned something, I would have done it by now."

"That's so very comforting to know, Sir." Harry replied sarcastically as he made his way up. "If I may –"

"See that desk there?" Snape asked, cutting him off.

"The one with the stuff crusted on top?"

"Yes that one."

"What about it?"

"I want you to set it on fire."

"What?!" Harry looked sharply at Snape.

"You heard me dunderhead. Set it on fire!"

"Fine, fine, how big a fire?" Harry mumbled, raising his wand reluctantly.

"A decent sized one."

"You asked for it," he said heavily. "I suggest you have your wand handy. Inflamma!"

He jabbed his wand imperiously at the desk. Almost immediately the entire surface burst into a large roaring fire. A few seconds later the fire was outed and the wet desktop was smouldering with thick tendrils of smoke. Harry winced as he saw the large scorch marks on the desk.

"Are you happy now? I almost set fire to your dungeon and burned it to a crisp." He mumbled.

"Perfectly," Snape said calmly as he tucked his wand away. "Since stone doesn't burn, I don't think I had that much to worry about. Besides, that was Crabbe's desk and fire was the only thing that removed that gunk."

"Yeah, no problem. Glad I could help out and be your guinea pig in one go."

Snape simply regarded him with a slightly amused look, the corners of his lips curling into a sardonic smirk. "Tell me Potter, have you heard the term assimilation before?"

"Can't say that I have."

"I see. What about magic channels?"

Harry simply blinked. That certainly was much better than saying, 'Huh?' to Snape of all people.

"Assimilation is when a wizard fully comes into his power. This normally happens past the age of twenty-one... however, it seems that the potions you took jump started yours." Snape didn't say anything for a long moment. "For most wizards, assimilation generally takes about five or six months before their magic settles down completely."

Harry took a deep breath; and this all started a 'month' ago. "You mean it's only going to get worse before it gets any better?"

"Precisely."

"So it doesn't matter that we actually spent one day in those rooms? My body still thinks that one month has passed?"

"While wizards can manipulate time, it is much more difficult thing to fool the body. If it thinks a month has passed that is what it operates on, even though the mind knows differently."

"So that's why everything I cast has gone crazy," he murmured.

"Since there were no major casualties in the day, I'll assume that tonight was the first time you used your wand?"

Harry nodded his head; thank God for lessons and review where no on expected him to demonstrate anything. "I don't think I should use it any more."

"And you can simply waltz into Ollivander's for a new one?"

"Touché," Harry said. "Maybe I just shouldn't teach... try to get used to... everything." He frowned. "Just what's wrong with my wand anyways?"

"A day ago, nothing was wrong with your wand," Snape began. "But now it's far too narrow for you. Hypothetically I suppose; this isn't my field of expertise."

"Could you attempt to explain it then?" Harry did his best to not smile at his jab.

Snape gave a momentary scowl. "The core of the wizard's wand acts as a channel for their magic. It can be wide or narrow, depending on the wizard and their magic. Some wizards require a combined core because their magic is much more complex and requires multiple channels, ergo, multiple cores. Others can suffice with one. Life experiences also play a key role, since the affect the wizard's magic and therefore the type of core and the number of them. From what I just saw, I'm guessing one of two things..."

Harry waited as Snape trailed off. "Well?" he finally demanded a few minutes later.

"One is that your wand's channels are too wide and allows everything to just blast forth. Before this wouldn't have caused a problem since your magic would have been a trickle as compared to now. But the floodgates have been opened."

"And the second one?"

"Your wand's channels are too narrow. Have you ever squirted a liquid from a narrow opening, Potter?"

"Yes..." Harry said slowly, as he eyed his wand warily, comprehension dawning on him fully. He was quite literally a loaded weapon waiting to go off.

"The second one requires greater aim, which you seem to possess. If your wand's channel was wide, you probably would have set three desks on fire rather than one. It's a different thing but just as devastating," Snape said. "If anything, you may need a wand with a combined core to diffuse the power of your magic later on in life. I daresay you might find wandless magic a bit easier now. But I wouldn't recommend it. It can be very draining on a wizard's magic and it takes awhile to recover from."

"Oh..." Harry was stopped before he even began.

"I'd suggest you don't teach any more classes and spend some time trying to control your magic. Being riled up during this period is also a bad idea as you can cause spontaneous magic to occur. Control is key, Potter. If you could learn Occlumency from me after two years, I'm sure you can manage this without someone to hold your hand."

"All right," Harry murmured before he paused. "Hey, wait a minute, what are you? My bloody Healer?"

"Considering the amount of stupidity you put me through, I might as well be. Someone has to patch you up from time to time, don't they? If you did it yourself, you'd be a bloody mess." Snape's smirk became even smugger. "Consider this predicament solved and ending here."

Harry watched Snape for a long moment before he smiled. "Thanks Sir."

"Now, if that's all," he drew his wand once more and swished it over Crabbe's desk, fixing it. "I suggest you get back to your rooms before Minerva finds out about this and has my head."

"Yes Sir." Harry said before he ran from the room with a grin on his face.


	16. Chapter 16

_**Come the Maëlstrom**_

_Chapter 16_

He never knew than the manor had a solarium in it. This was sole part of the house that escaped Narcissa's touch altogether. He had been taking a walk through the grounds in the morning when he noticed the wide glass windows that would undoubtedly catch the sun as it rose and set. It seemed odd that he never noticed something like that in all his years living here. But that didn't matter. He'd found himself gripped by a curiosity and headed back inside to seek out the room. It had taken a good bit of searching, but he'd finally found it, through a hidden passageway tucked just underneath the main staircase on the ground floor beside the portrait of Bastion Malfoy, the founder of the family. Bastion had felt much neglected in his semi-shadowy corner and Lucius had to talk with him for quite a while. It was somewhere into the third hour that Bastion told him about the solarium; it showed up when it wanted to. And it hadn't shown up since his time when he himself had used it, and it was prone to decorating itself unless you did that by wand yourself. Bastion warned him that he didn't know what the room looked like now, but Lucius didn't quite care about that; he was rather pleased by that singular fact that he had found a room not used since the early fifteenth century.

When he walked down the hallway and opened the door, he found that it was completely bare spare for a rickety old shelf on the wall by the door and a lone high backed chair that looked far too uncomfortable with a small reading table set up beside it with a pile of books. The windows were naked and allowed in all the sunlight. The floor was simply carpeted in white that added to the illusion of airiness; tat must have been the room's addition. He leaned against the doorway staring into it. Narcissa always seemed to be haranguing him in his study. He needed another spot to himself in the house. Perhaps this was it. It could use a few leafy plants by the windows, perhaps a potted tree or two. A small bookcase in the wall with a lounge chaise beside it... maybe even, dare he say it, a few throw pillows and blanket in the sunny corner and a magazine rack?

"Yes... this is it." He murmured to himself as he surveyed the room.

He took a step forward but halted as his foot was still in the air. It seemed like a travesty to stay so formal in a room that he was about to craft into his own personal space. He lowered his foot back onto the other side before slipping his shoes off and leaving them outside the door. The sun was warm on his socked feet as he stepped onto the carpet, feeling the thick pile beneath his feet. After a moment, he shrugged out of his robe before folding it neatly and placing it in a corner of the room.

He surveyed the room one last time before he walked over to the chair and dragged it to the middle of the room. He scrutinised it hard before drawing his wand from its side sheath and tapping the chair briskly. It stretched out and shrank closer to the ground, while the hard wood sprouted white spots that swelled up and outwards with stuffing. A few minutes later, a lounge chaise lay there, it's teak finish gleaming pristinely in the sunlight and the cream coloured upholstery glowed with a welcoming light.

Now to take care of that rickety shelf; the thought hadn't even crossed his mind that anything in this manor could be rickety. But even as he raised his wand, he was thinking over transfiguring it. Finally, he lowered his wand and walked up to it. He couldn't even make out a film of dust. Whatever charms had been used on the room were well cast. He prodded it with a finger and received an ominous sounding creak. Well, it could simply sit there on the wall; there was no harm in that. As for the table...

His gaze shifted to the table now as he walked up to it. Eight books sat piled one on top of the other. The titles made vague sense to him; archaic French was not his forte. He picked up the books and inspected the table; inlaid wood with the family crest on it; that was definitely staying.

"Nous n'oublions pas..." he murmured, reading the motto on the curling banner beneath the dragon and the hippogriff whose feet were surrounded by a wreath of laurel.

He snorted and placed the books back down as he examined the room. Firstly there would be a low bookcase right by the wall, the top just reaching the tops of window bottoms and curling around the semicircular width. A dark maple finish would showcase the teak chaise wonderfully. Then the chaise could go somewhere close to one end of it and a potted tree right at the head of it to create a bit of shade for reading. A large fern could go on top at the farthest end of the bookcase. Then the large pillows and blanket could occupy that large space over to his far right. But what colour should the pillows be? Green? That looked too washed out in the bright sun. Burgundy? Much too strong. Yellow? Perhaps muted mustard yellow. Dark green? That could work; the dark green wouldn't look so washed out. The blanket could be a light grey colour and the magazine rack would be of a matte metal finish and perhaps another potted tree for some shade.

But that ended up leaving a gaping hole in the middle of the room. He frowned before he turned back to the wall. It was best to focus on one thing at a time and then work from there. He moved the table off to the side before he rolled up his shirt sleeves and readjusted his grip on his wand. It didn't take him long to conjure what was needed. What took him awhile was arranging it in precisely the manner he wanted. By the time he finally lowered his wand in satisfaction, early afternoon sun was shining in brightly and his stomach was rumbling.

"Bwink." He called as he slipped his wand in his back pocket.

It was a few minutes before the house elf popped into sight. "Master Lucius called?"

"Bring me a sandwich and a bottle of something to drink."

Bwink made a plainly agitated sound. "Master Lucius doesn't have a specific request!" she paused for a moment, her eyes widening. "Master Lucius says he wants something to drink from... from a bottle!" she sounded absolutely scandalised.

"You heard me. Anything will suffice." He said with a dismissive wave of his hand.

Bwink gave a painful whimper but disappeared with a small 'pop' sound. Now, he had to attend to the middle of the room. It seemed to mock him with its gaping hole. He narrowed his eyes inspecting the space. That dining room seemed ludicrously large for one person to eat alone in. Or suffer the company of an unwanted wife. He frowned as he started walking in a circle around the spot. Perhaps a small breakfast table and a comfortably cushioned chair –

A short 'pop' sound came. "Master Lucius?"

Lucius held up a hand for silence. Yes, that would probably do nicely. He drew his wand and swished it with a few flicks and a few minutes later a simple chair with grey upholstery appeared, as well as a table with a polished top and sinuous, curling legs. He turned around to find Bwink staring between him and the table with nothing less than complete awe.

"Master Lucius is the greatest wizard!" Bwink said in a tiny voice.

He regarded the house elf for a moment, resisting the urge to move his lips into a smile, and the tray with the simple sandwich and bottle of Butterbeer. "Put it on the table."

Bwink cringed and did just that immediately. "Is Master Lucius needings anything else?"

"Nothing at the moment," Lucius said. "I'll summon you if I require anything immediately. And Bwink."

"Yes Master Lucius?" Bwink asked in a fearful voice.

"No hysterics next time, am I understood?"

"Yes Master Lucius!" Bwink said enthusiastically before she disappeared with a brisk 'pop'.

Lucius sat down at the table, savouring the sound of the silence. He looked at the sandwich for a long moment; he rarely ate them, but he had a favourite. And he was now looking at it: lightly toasted rye bread with a touch of mustard and mayonnaise with lettuce, cucumbers, thinly sliced tomatoes with the slime removed and the requisite two slices of roasted chicken and one of ham. How that house elf found it out, he didn't know but he would be sure to hang on to her.

The sandwich and the Butterbeer were finished off in record time. All that conjuring had worked up his appetite. All he had to do now was select some books from the main library upstairs and bring them. He rose from his seat and the tray disappeared. Bwink was far too efficient for any mere house elf. Shaking his head for a moment, his eyes scanned the bookcase critically before he made his way to the door and slipped his shoes on. It took him awhile to reach the main library and then to shrink down the books and place them in his pockets. That bookcase could hold probably no more than four hundred books and he didn't plan on making more than one trip. The main library was all the way at the opposite side of the manor with the entrance doors on the second floor and required a good twenty minutes of walking. Not that he was the lazy but the sooner he could enjoy this room, the better.

He was walking back to the solarium with his pockets filled to bursting with books when Narcissa finally waylaid him close to the stairs on the second floor. She just slipped from around a corner, already wearing a frown on her face.

"Lucius, it's about time I saw you in..." her eyes flitted down his pockets. "What the hell is that in your pockets?"

"Books," he replied with a shrug.

Narcissa seemed a bit surprised to get a straight answer. "Why are your pockets filled with books?" she looked over him once more. "Why aren't you wearing your robes? Are your shirt sleeves rolled up? And for Heaven's sake, why is your wand tucked into you back pocket?"

"I don't know why I didn't see it before..." Lucius mused after a moment of staring at her.

"I beg your pardon?" 

"The remarkable likeness that you bear with a harpy... the shrill voice that's enough to drive any man insane, the predatory manner, the face of a woman but the frail body of a bird... remarkable. Are you quite sure you aren't some sort of halfbreed?"

Narcissa's face contorted slightly. "You're a good one to talk of mixed blood. If anything you're the halfbreed."

"Better a Veela than a harpy," Lucius said smoothly. "Is this all you wished to harangue me with today?"

"No, that is not all," Narcissa ground out as she stalked towards him. "You've been..." she trailed off, looking at him suspiciously. Her eyes narrowed slightly. "You look different."

Lucius rolled his eyes and pushed past her. Narcissa grabbed his arm and spun him around, a malevolent look in her eyes. "It's that little harlot, isn't it?" she hissed.

"'Little harlot'?" Lucius asked with mocking innocence. "Whomever are you referring to dear wife?"

"Snape," Narcissa spat out. "By Hera, I swear if you att –"

At that precise moment, his Dark Mark burned; it burned like an inferno that couldn't be extinguished. He hissed, pressing a hand to his forearm when it first hit him, but his grip lessened as the sensation tapered off. When he looked up, he saw something he wasn't expecting at all. Narcissa was pressing a hand to her lower hip tightly with a pinched expression on her face.

"So... you too have the Dark Mark as well dear wife," he said tightly as he advanced on her. "And just how did you come by it in such an interesting place." It was no small wonder that he didn't know she had it. Only the Dark Lord's mistresses had the Dark Mark emblazoned there and he hadn't slept with her since the night Draco was conceived.

Narcissa took an involuntary step backwards, her expression tight. "Our Lord as summoned us."

Lucius didn't say anything beyond glaring at her for a moment before he pushed past her and walked down the stairs quickly. He didn't even bother to wait and see if she was watching him. He headed back into the solarium and dumped the books out hastily and enlarged them. He gave an absent flick of his wand, arranging the books on the shelves as he reached for his robe. He felt for the inside pocket, the hard cylinder of the vial greeting his touch in the inside pocket and the Death Eater mask in the hidden pouch. He rolled down his shirt sleeves, placed his wand back into its place beside his ribs, shrugged into his robe quickly and did it up as he hurried from the room.

His steps clicked against the polished floors as he stepped into the front foyer. From the second level, he could hear the sounds of Narcissa preparing upstairs. He gave a disparaging snort; the longer she took, the better for him. He lingered for a moment, before recalling just where he had to go and Apparating away.

The spacious foyer was replaced by the gloomy living room of the house by Hogsmeade. The room was crowded with the others who were milling around the room. Sunlight streamed in through the boarded up windows, illuminating the dust that lay thickly on everything and creating a peculiar sort of twilight. Crabbe and Goyle had certainly secured a house and had obviously left it in its original condition. Well, Goyle left it in its original condition; as far as he knew, Crabbe had paid the ultimate price for allowing Valencia to vanish during his watch.

"He wishes to see you," Goyle said quietly as he approached Lucius from behind. "Upstairs, the door at the far end."

He gave curt nod and made his way through the living room and up the creaky stairs. The door was slightly ajar and sunlight streamed out of it, illuminating the dark of the hallway. Odd... Voldemort in sunlight? Brushing that thought aside, he knocked on the door.

"Enter."

Lucius walked into the room, noticing Karakoff standing there close to the Dark Lord looking smug and nervous at the same time. He made a low bow of obeisance. "My Lord..."

"Lucius," Voldemort began after a moment. "Karakoff has told me something quite interesting."

"Has he my Lord?" Lucius glanced at Karakoff for a moment. "If I may be so bold, what was it that he saw exactly?"

"That you managed to enter Hogwarts," Voldemort said after a long moment. "And that not long after your arrival, Dumbledore was up to something; something that took him all day."

"Yes, my Lord. I was at Hogwarts," Lucius began. "However, I was there to speak to Severus. As you know, only parents with an urgent need are allowed into the school."

"Clever. And what did you discover during your trip?"

"Plenty my Lord, more than enough to assure you victory," Lucius resisted the urge to smile as Karakoff's face paled; this obviously wasn't going as the dolt planned. "I have secured you multiple entries into the building, discovered its weak points and learned of the teachers and students likely to be on sentry duty when attack tonight."

"And is there a particular reason as to why you went so early in the morning?" Voldemort asked, sliding Karakoff a look.

"It would hardly do to have students blithering on about seeing me there. It was necessary to arrive early in order to have the discussion with Severus. He told me one of the more underhanded things that Dumbledore was setting up."

Voldemort's eyes narrowed malevolently. "Explain."

"It seems the bothersome old coot set up wards on the entrance; wards that will cause you to lose your strength. Undoubtedly you remember the graveyard, my Lord?"

"...Go on"

"According to Severus, he used Potter's blood to activate the wards. The moment you set foot through them, your strength will be reduced to what it was before the ritual that fully restored you to us."

Voldemort didn't say anything for moment. "I have no doubt the senile coot would do something like that. This proves quite troublesome..."

"Indeed not my Lord," Lucius said reaching into his robe. "Severus also sent along this specifically tailored obstruction potion. It will negate the effects of the wards and leave you free to take the school."

"Hm, once again, he proves his loyalty," Voldemort mused as he held his hand out. Lucius slunk up and placed the vial in his skeletal hand. "It seems your accusations of Lucius switching sides were unfounded Karakoff."

"B-But my Lord! I –" Karakoff began.

"Be silent!" Voldemort snapped as he removed the stopper. "Tonight will be your last chance to prove yourself useful. Afterwards..."

Karakoff nodded his head quickly and slunk away until he was standing beside Lucius. When there was silence, he looked up it find the Dark Lord gulping down the contents of the vial. When he brought it away from his nonexistent lips, a momentary bluish glow suffused his body before it ended.

"The glow is to be expected. It confirms that the potion worked successfully. Severus didn't wish to take any chances with something so important to you, my Lord."

"Severus shall be richly rewarded for this," Voldemort mused as he looked at the empty vial in his hand. "Lucius, it will be a few hours before everyone arrives. Once they do, I want you to explain what shall be done very carefully. I do not want any screw ups this time. This is the night when I finally kill Potter."

Lucius bowed once more. Now he could only trust they had everything ready at Hogwarts.

* * *

"Damn it Potter, what the hell are you trying to do!"

"I told you already!"

"I mean now, you imbecile! Do you know what that hex was!"

"Yeah. I also knew you'd definitely avoid it."

Draco pushed a few loose strands of hair from his face. "This is fucking ridiculous! If anything, I should be the one hexing you, not vice versa. I've barely gotten a spell in, let alone a simple little jinx!"

"Hey, I explained everything to you at the beginning. You know, this could be much worse."

Draco didn't say anything beside something that was grumbled far too low for him to hear. Harry laughed as he sat down on the ground. He'd taken Snape's advice and woken up at the crack of dawn. By noon, he had been able to exercise a greater degree of control over his magic. It wasn't as hard as he had thought it would be or as Snape made it out to sound. So he'd gone wandering and decided to grab the first person he saw to help him practice. The first person happened to be Draco. They'd been going at it for awhile with a few breaks sprinkled in.

The blond now plunked himself down beside Harry, breathing heavily with a thin sheen of perspiration on his brow. "Hell, I think you're going to kill every single Death Eater that tries to get into the school single-handedly."

"Thanks but I'm sure you can move your lazy ass and get in a few yourself." Harry panted as he let his head hit the wall. "I think that's enough of a workout."

"I agree... bloody hell, I can't believe you actually used that hex!"

"Admit it; if you were a Death Eater and suddenly lost your bits, wouldn't you kinda be shocked and freak out?"

"Yeah. Sure Boot taught that one in DA but... you attempted to hex me with it. _Me_!" Draco snapped angrily. "I should hex you until you look like a bloody chicken!"

Harry snorted and shoved Draco lightly. "Sure, you talk big."

Draco bristled at that and Harry laughed even more. When the classroom door was opened, they both looked up to find Ginny peering around the door, shock written all over her face. Harry looked at her questioningly and cleared his throat. That seemed to shock her to senses.

"Er, Hermione is looking for you," Ginny said. "Last place I saw her was in a classroom on the second floor."

"Just like Granger to be bloody inconvenient," Draco snorted. "She wants us to walk all the way down from the seventh floor to the second."

"Be nice," Harry replied absently. "I'll head down now. She seemed kind of put out that I didn't talk to her yesterday night."

Ginny nodded her head. "Want me to come with you? Damage control is always a good thing."

"Sure," Harry said wryly. "Merlin knows that I'm gonna need. You coming?" he looked at Draco.

"I suppose I could tag along to watch the show," the blond shrugged as he rose.

Harry snickered as Ginny gawked at the Slytherin in disbelief. Harry rose and then patted her on the shoulder when he walked over to her side. She looked up at him with a start before she shook her head and left the room. Harry fell in step beside her with Draco trailing behind.

"Harry," Ginny asked hesitantly as they started down the stairs. "Do you think this is it? The end of it all?"

"I don't know, Gin," Harry said after a long moment. "I hope so." He said, even though that worried feeling came back in the pit of his stomach.

"And... you'll make it through this right?" she glanced at him hesitantly.

Harry looked at her, and smiled, even though he felt horrible about it. "You bet. How does ice cream at Fortescue's sound?"

"Yeah," Ginny said in a shaky voice and an unsure smile. "That sounds good."

"Then –" he broke off as Draco suddenly grabbed his arm. "What is..."

Draco had yanked him abruptly to a window. That was all he needed to do. The sun was setting and he could make out the fluttering black shapes in the sky, illuminated perfectly against the crimson sky and the bright green sign of Morsmorde over Hogsmeade. Dementors; the Dementors were coming to Hogwarts. He looked over at Draco's whose expression was grim and gaunt. Ginny had come back and looked out the window. Her face was a pasty white and her eyes wide.

"Harry..." she began hoarsely.

The rest of her words were drowned out by the sound of a siren filling the hallways. It seemed that students and teachers streamed out from every single door. Everything had been finalised earlier on in the day already; where certain students would go, which teacher or senior student would lead them, who they'd be fighting with. The ones who simply couldn't fight had been weeded out and send to the infirmary to assist Madame Pomfrey and Snape. Harry pushed his way through the crowd, followed by Ginny and Draco. In the midst of all the students scrambling to get to their places, he spied Ron's red hair.

"Oi! Ron!" he bellowed.

"Harry!" Ron managed to hear him over the commotion and struggle his way over. "Oh good, you got Gin! Come on, Gin, 'Mione's waiting for us by the third floor windows! We gotta go now! Move it!"

"Remember, ice cream at Fortescue's!" Ginny yelled back as Ron dragged her away.

Draco tugged on Harry's arm and motioned with his head. Right, they were with the group of advanced students, holding down the line by the main doors. This time, the fight would be on their territory. Things had changed since some of those Death Eaters had attended Hogwarts and they intended to make the most of that. All the portraits' occupants had long fled, probably to somewhere deep inside the castle that would see little or no fighting.

"And people say, I'm horrible," Draco snorted as they shoved their way through the chaotic swirl. "You just lied right to her face."

"What would you have me say? I'm going to face Voldemort and I probably won't live to see tomorrow?" Harry suggested. "Better to leave her with some hope than no hope at all."

"Oh, a little white lie. Are all you Gryffindors so sentimental?"

"Horribly," Harry said wryly as he made his way to the main stairs down to the front foyer. He could see Moody, standing in front of the nervous looking students. The ones who had been in the previous battle looked grim, their expressions tight and their wands clutched tightly, like they could only be pried away by a jinx from cold dead hands. He pressed his way down until he was standing beside Moody.

"Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter reporting, Sir!" Harry said smartly with a small salute.

"Glad to see you can be humorous about this," Moody growled, as he sized up Draco. "All right, you two got the left flank. I've got Finnegan and Patil on the right."

Harry leaned over to see Seamus and Parvati looking ashen and a bit sick, but otherwise determined. He motioned with his head and he and Draco went to the front of the left flank. Very few of the students around him looked prepared for this. They looked like they wanted to wet their pants. It seemed that all of the faces looked that way. Harry glanced at Draco before he turned around.

"All of you listen!" he called suddenly. It was very easy to hear his voice in the nervous calm. "They've tried this once and what did we do?"

A half-hearted reply came. He scowled. "What did we do!" He roared.

"Kicked their butts!" came the loud reply.

"And what are we going to do again?"

"Kick their butts!" it was much louder this time

"Do what?"

"Kick their butts! Kick their butts!"

The furious chant was started and Harry could have sworn he heard it move along, probably up to the second floor and beyond.

"You've certainly got charisma." Draco yelled at Harry to be heard over the chant.

Harry grinned as he looked back at the crowd; they didn't look so scared now. He glanced over at Moody to see the ex-Auror snort but there was an approving gleam in his eye. The chant had just started to die down with the first ominous bang came against the doors. Every single pair of eyes fixed on the barred wood. Another bang came, and the doors creaked slightly. It sounded like something was throwing itself against the doors in a frenzy. It came a few more times before there was a loud silence.

Then the loudest bang came that made the doors crash wide open. The Dementors swarmed in, circling in the air before descending. A bright silver explosion came from the raised wands and a mass of various Patronuses crashed into the creatures, causing a keening wail to fill the foyer and break any glass present. Then in came the Death Eaters right on their heels.

"Come the maëlstrom..." Harry murmured before he charged down with the swell of enraged students and teachers.

* * *

Draco had mentioned the DA once in passing during summer vacation after fifth year. He said it was nothing more than some silly little Defence club that Harry had been running along with Granger and Weasley. Naturally Draco had decided to not join when they made it available in sixth year for that simple petty reason.

But here he was fighting tooth and nail with students to carve a path to Harry for the Dark Lord, with Karakoff by his side. It had been going like this for what seemed like forever now. And it seemed for every spell, curse, hex or jinx that hit the students their strength seemed to double, as if they were feeding off the frenetic energy of the battle. Neither side showed any sign of tiring and bodies already lay scattered on the ground, some dead, others... who knew.

The Dark Lord was right behind them, cursing whichever student happened to come in his way with something painful. He'd seen a few kids go down with various painful afflictions. It seemed that he was saving the honour of his only Avada Kedavra for the battle all for Harry. But even as he watched the Dark Lord, he could see the subtle signs of him tiring. But, being the stubborn megalomaniac that he was, the thought would be dismissed as foolish and he would press on, making the potion spread through his body even faster.

"There..." Voldemort hissed in triumph.

Lucius looked away from hexing a student with something to see what had caught the Dark Lord's attention. There, up on the landing of the main stairs, Harry was fighting off at least four Death Eaters, with Draco by his side.

"My Lord!" Karakoff cried as the Dark Lord set off towards Harry, viciously hexing anyone who got in his way.

Thankfully the Dark Lord has his back to them, so he simply aimed a hex and Karakoff and watched as he crumpled to the ground. He started after the Dark Lord, but suddenly found that a large block of students now stood in his way. He snarled and jinxed each one of them as fast as he could. But for every one that fell, it seemed that another one popped up. His progress was slow and he was only halfway to the staircase when the Dark Lord was reaching the top.

He watched in trepidation as the Death Eaters scattered, leaving Harry and Draco against the sinister skeletal man. He found himself praying that Draco didn't do anything stupid. That vague hope was dashed once Draco raised his wand and fired something. The Dark Lord laughed before raising his wand and sending a jet of green light. Draco's body contorted and then crumpled to the ground, a horrified expression on Harry's face. Lucius started hexing, cursing and jinxing anyone that dared to get in his way now. Whoever stood between him and his son's body was going to pay dearly. He didn't let himself dwell on that fact but channelled his rage into his wand, making his attacks all the more potent.

When a bright tendril of light crackled through the air, it caused the battle to lull for a moment. More of them came, almost everyone stopped to look up at the landing where it came from. Harry was bathed in a reddish-black glow, tendrils of it snapping off to whip through the air. Harry's magic had made itself visible. This couldn't possibly get any worse. The Dark Lord seemed especially pleased and raised his wand, uttering the two words that produced the same jet of green coloured light. Harry's wand rose in an instant, the brunette obviously saying the same thing.

The two jets of green light fused together and changed into an orange string with pulsing beads of light. They seemed to be coming from the Dark Lord's end, but slowly, they were pushed back and, just like in the graveyard, shades began to pour fourth from the Dark Lord's wand. He'd managed to make his way close enough to see and thankfully the first one that came out wasn't Draco's. So his son was still alive somehow.

So many shades poured out now, all swirling around Harry and his magic. It seemed to pulse even brighter with each one that came. And as each one came out, The Dark Lord looked more and more panicked. Harry's face contorted with concentration, causing the beads of light to speed up in pace. The Dark Lord's hand started trembling badly, and then suddenly, a large sphere of light shot from Harry's wand, down the string of light and entered the Dark Lord's wand.

Nothing happened for a moment and then a loud explosion with a cloud of orange came with a pained cry as it engulfed Harry and the Dark Lord.

"Avada Kedavra!"

A bright green flash came from inside the cloud accompanied by a cracking sound. Almost immediately on the heels of that, came a burst of white light followed by a peculiar wail.

"Oblivisci anima!"

The cloud of orange and white swelled even more with from a yellow light and a thin high wail that evaporated into nothing and left only the sound of Harry screaming. After a few minutes, that too abruptly ended, and the cloud still lingered around. Though it was dissipating by the Death Eaters fleeing past it and some students that were chasing them down; now a hunt began and Lucius was hard pressed to make it up the remaining stairs. But he managed to make it somehow, and the cloud had dissipated enough to reveal the scene before his eyes.

The Dark Lord, lay contorted on the ground, his body frozen in death throes, a horrified expression on his flat face. Draco lay sprawled on the ground, something ivory white and sharp protruding through his skin. Harry had collapsed on top of Draco and a small puddle of blood was forming beneath the two of them. It looked like Draco was just breathing... but Harry... Harry looked dead.

"Harry?" he said in a faint hoarse voice, lost in the swirling press of enraged students. His own voice sounded small and lost as if it had suddenly been set adrift in a strange place. It didn't sound like his voice at all.

Then something hit him in the back and he toppled to the ground. His spine and ribs felt like they were attempting to yank themselves from his body and trot off. He writhed on the ground as a shadow fell over him, laughing. He managed to open his eyes to find a redhead standing over him.

"Lucius Malfoy...scum of the Earth..." the bitter laugh belonged to Ginny Weasley. It looked like she was bleeding from a gash over her eye and her right arm hung limply by her side. "Hurts, doesn't it?"

Her wand was still pointed at him and she turned it. She had somehow managed to increase the pain. He bit his lip, unwilling to give her the satisfaction of hearing his scream of pain. Salazar, was it ever going to stop?

"It hurts, doesn't it you bastard?" she spat venomously. "You killed so many and now..." she broke off in a choked voice. "You should suffer; you deserve every last bit of it. I should torture you so you know what it's like. But I don't think I will. I'll leave you to suffer from the Ministry."

She dropped her wand but the pain still didn't subside in his back. He continued to writhe on the ground, in a futile attempt to make it stop. Ginny gave one final bitter laugh before she hit him with a spell and he found himself in the blissful relief of unconsciousness.


	17. Interlude

_**Come the Maëlstrom**_

_Interlude_

As taken from the morning edition of the Daily Prophet – May 9th, 1998.

**_The Defeat of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named  
_**_A reign of terror brought to an end  
_Special to the Daily Prophet – Troia Veridica

A sombre cloud hangs over Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It still bears the scars of the final battle that occurred there a few days ago. In an effort to wrest control in England, You-Know-Who attempted a double simultaneous coup; one at Hogwarts and one at the Ministry through a sleeper Death Eater high up in the Ministry ranks.

One the eve of May 6th Death Eaters, as well as Dementors and other creatures allied with the Dark Lord, attacked the nearby village of Hogsmeade reducing it to shells before moving onto the school itself.

Details of what exactly happened in the school are garbled at best but what is known for certain is this. The Boy-Who-Lived, Harry Potter, faced off against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and won. The condition of the young hero is currently unknown, but it can be assumed that he must still be inside Hogwarts' walls.

What else is know that the students themselves captured many Death Eaters and turned them over to Ministry custody to face war crime trials. Many reputable wizards and witches are facing a full trial by the Ministry's judicial branch.

At the Ministry itself, the Dark Lord's coup attempt was spearheaded by a Miss Fifi LeCron, in whom full authority powers were vested in case of anything happening to Fudge, and was brilliantly foiled by Percy Weasley, a special investigator for the Wizengamot Council. In the short hours after You-Know-Who's defeated, the Wizengamot acted quickly on the information provided by Mr. Weasley and voted in a 12-0 favour to impeach Cornelius Fudge. And until such a time that a new, competent Minister for Magic can be elected, the Wizengamot has appointed Percy Weasley the temporary Minster for Magic.

"Percy Weasley came to us a year ago with some concerns regarding Fudge's practices," says Agnes Bones, co-head of the Wizengamot. "He's been very diligent in the course of his work and collected very thorough evidence while ensuring that he had everything he needed before proceeding to circumvent the Dark Lord's attempt to grasp control of the Ministry. He has proved himself more than capable of handling the Ministry during this tumultuous time, even more so that some more experienced politicians of whom we shall be investigating due to fishy activities recently. We owe both him and young Mr. Harry Potter a large debt of gratitude. England might be very different if not for those two boys."

It is the sincere hope of this reporter that young Mr. Percy Weasley can step up the momentous challenge before him and that Mr. Harry Potter is in the best of health and recuperating. And that those who have brought us such terror for so long to reap the rewards they richly deserve.

- Troia Veridica


	18. Chapter 17

_**Come the Maëlstrom**_

_Chapter 17_

Severus snorted as he disdainfully threw the three day old morning edition of the Daily Prophet on the bedside table. At least that reporter wasn't as bad as Rita Skeeter. He glanced over to his left at Harry's inert form, noting the slow, barely perceptible breathing. Over to his right, Draco lay in a potion induced sleep, bone spikes still protruding from his skin. He bitched all the time when he was up about the pain and both Severus and Poppy found it much more preferable to have him resting. Besides, he bled constantly from those things and Poppy was starting to run low on Blood-Replenishing potion. When he was asleep, he certainly wouldn't be as active or vocal nor doing something to get his heart rate going. God knew Severus barely had enough time to brew anything, let alone just be sitting here.

After that messy battle, additional space had to be added onto the infirmary to accommodate the number of patients. At the moment, they had over two hundred bed-bound patients, with others coming in for daily checkups. And Poppy had to run over to St. Mungo's to see about some supplies and possibly getting a few Healers here to relive them both. Answering the ails of at least two hundred patients was too much for two Healers.

"Damn it, what's taking Poppy so bloody long?" he growled as he looked at his watch.

He snorted as he crossed his arms and looked over at Harry. It was no small wonder that the boy was in this state. He'd heard rumours that Harry had been covered some red-black sort of light. Given the volatile state of his magic, it must have actually manifested itself; that alone was severely depleting. Add in an Unforgivable and some spell that no one had heard before, let alone the possible effects it could have wrought…

"See? Patching you up again." Snape mumbled as he rested his head on a hand.

He started dozing off slightly when the sound of the curtain being drawn back came. He started to find Hermione and Ron standing there. Hermione had a patch over her right eye and Ron had crutches. Behind them stood the two Muggles… Ernesto and Valencia if he remembered correctly.

"If I remember correctly," he began wearily. "It was agreed that Potter would not be having visitors."

Hermione opened her mouth but it was Ron that spoke.

"You once called Harry a heartless creature remember?" he said quietly. "I'm going ask you something Sir. Are you going to be the heartless creature and deny these people from seeing him at least once? Don't you think they deserve at least that?"

Severus scowled as his eyes flitted to the couple standing anxiously. They couldn't see beyond the curtains that had been set up. And the anxious, strained looks on their faces said more than enough. He drew his wand and flicked it at Draco's curtain, causing it to draw shut. He nodded his head as he sheathed his wand back, resting his head on his upturned palm and fighting the urge to sleep.

Ron moved aside awkwardly and motioned for Ernesto and Valencia to enter. Hermione walked in before them, looking at Harry's inert body sadly. Ernesto and Valencia stood at the foot of the bed, glancing at one another momentarily.

- Harry, are you up? - Ernesto asked quietly.

The words fell heavily into the air and were met with a reply of silence. Valencia's brow furrowed as she walked over to the bedside and looked at Harry for a moment. She looked at him, before she reached down and smoothed a few loose strand of hair from his forehead. She let her hand rest there as she leaned in.

- Harry… answer me… please… Harry… Harry? -

Severus may not have understood a single word said, but he certainly didn't need to know anything. The fearful but entreating tone in her voice said she was clinging to some form of hope. But the longer the silence stretched on, he got the distinct feeling that she knew what had happened and that hope was rapidly vanishing away. She crouched down, resting her knees on the ground as her hands moved down to clasp one of Harry's. Ernesto walked over to her side now, a grim expression on his face when he stopped and looked down at Harry.

Severus was surprised when the man looked directly at him.

"What did he do?" the words were slow, unsure and somewhat broken sounding but perfectly clear.

"Potter?" Severus glanced over to find that Valencia had curled Harry's hand into a fist and wrapped her hand tightly around it, eyes closed and whispering something softly. "He did just what was expected of him."

Ernesto shook his head. "Not Harry… Dumbledore."

Severus didn't say anything for a moment, realizing what Ernesto was getting at. He basically wanted to know if Albus knew of a way to prevent this from happening. He could still remember that scene in the office; that had been the first time he'd seen anyone thoroughly chew up Albus and spit him back out as if he left a bad taste in their mouth. He shifted his attention back to Ernesto to find that glowering, brewing expression on his face.

He shrugged. "Don't know."

Ernesto snorted with a black look on his face. - I should go give Dumbledore a piece of my mind… -

He blithely ignored the mutterings. In a way, Severus supposed he couldn't blame the man for his sour attitude. When a choked sob came from the bedside, he looked back to find Valencia with tears in her eyes. She buried her face in the blanket, her shoulders trembling but she still held onto Harry's hand.

- What did he do to deserve this? - Valencia looked up absently. - What… -

She stifled her tears long enough to slip her fingers from Harry's and press a kiss to his fist before resting it down on the bed gently. Her hands came to rest on the edge and she watched Harry a bit longer, fresh tears welling up again.

- Come on; you're not doing any good wetting his blanket with tears Valencita. -

Severus watched as Ernesto guided the weeping woman from the bed. They disappeared behind the curtain. Ron, who had been hanging back, glanced at Hermione for moment, before shuffling his way off, crutches thunking against the floor. Hermione was standing in the corner, watching Harry's still form with an expression of guilt that would have put Wormtail to shame.

"Miss Granger, if there's something you wish to say to Potter say it now. Poppy will be back any moment and will hex me to goo if she finds you here."

Hermione continued staring at Harry. "It must have drained him. I might as well have done that to him myself," she whispered softly. "I never should have thought about showing him that… and he had it for a whole month…"

Severus was beyond the point of exhaustion. That was the only logical explanation for why he still didn't order Hermione from the room in his usual cursory manner. "Shown him what?"

That seemed to surprise her. "He didn't show you or… Mr. Malfoy?"

He sighed heavily and rubbed his forehead. "Obviously not."

Silence came again as Hermione didn't say anything for a long moment. "Do you know the origins of the Obliviate charm?"

"No," he slumped further in his chair, blinking owlishly as he struggled to stay up. "I don't."

Hermione's gaze swung from Harry to him. "You're tired."

He refrained from saying something; it just might be, Heaven forbid, nice or even genuinely amusing in his current state. Hermione walked over and held out her hand, a wistful expression on her face now. He swatted it aside and pushed himself up from the chair, trying to not sway slightly. The only problem was that the entire world lurched forward.

"Careful!"

The floor abruptly stopped moving, and he looked over to find Hermione with an arm around his midsection and his arm draped over her shoulder; she was giving him a smile that simply said, 'Severus Snape, you are hopeless'. He snorted and blinked once more, intent on remaining awake at least a bit longer. Their steps seemed unnaturally loud in the infirmary and by the time he felt a soft surface beneath him, he wasn't sure what was wrong with him.

"You've worn yourself out," Hermione said as she sat down on the edge of the bed beside him. "Try and get some rest."

"I can't. Too many damned brats to look after," he struggled to sit up.

"Just rest; Madame Pomfrey should be back any moment now," Hermione said with a smile he could see in her eye as she pushed him back down gently. "I think you have a very serious problem."

"And what's that?" he sneered.

"You care too much," Hermione's smile became a bit sad. "It's all over Severus; you're free. You don't have to hide anymore, you know," she paused. "I'll bet you haven't even looked at your arm yet have you?"

Severus didn't say anything as he grumbled. Bloody know-it-all Gryffindor… Hermione watched him for a long moment before she reached out and rested her hand on his left forearm. He didn't say anything as she slowly slid the cloth up. For some odd reason, he was barely noticing that fact. Her hair looked a bit straggly, as if she had run her hands through it one too many times. And she looked a touch haggard; she _never_ looked haggard. He stopped her hand suddenly.

"When did you last sleep?" he demanded.

"I woke up the day before yesterday around eleven at night…stayed up since," she said with a shrug. "I'll get some sleep later."

"Get some now." He ordered curtly.

"I will if you promise me three things."

"Fine, fine." He sighed testily.

"Look at your arm," she murmured as she pushed the sleeve all the way up.

The spot on his arm that had been graced with the Dark Mark for twenty odd years was gone. There was absolutely nothing to indicate that it had ever been there. The skin was just as pale and sallow as the rest of him. He tugged the cloth back down with a sigh.

"What else?"

"Get some sleep, all right? I'll bet Madame Pomfrey is heading up here right now."

"You said three things."

"I know. Would you –"

"I'm back!" Madame Pomfrey's voice called out gently as the sound of the door opening came. "And I have twenty wonderful Healers with me!"

For the first time in his life, Severus had the vague feeling that he could have cried from relief. Hermione didn't say anything for a moment as she stood with an unreadable expression on her face.

"Get some sleep. I'll tell her everything is fine."

Severus was sure he mumbled something in reply, but he was already nodding off to be absolutely sure.

* * *

"Well, it certainly is good to see you up and about." 

A scowl came to Severus' face as he glanced up at Albus from over his cauldron. "I'm busy. What have you come to bother me with now?"

"To see how you were doing and to have a chat."

Severus watched as Albus conjured a chair and sat close to the table edge. He didn't want to chat now; he wanted to be left in peace so he could brew some more potions before going up to check on Harry and Draco. They were the only two patients that were not entrusted over to the care of the Healers. The only thing the Healers were told was that two patients were in a comatose state and it was deemed best if Poppy and Severus kept track of their condition; they were more aware of the situation leading up to the state, and knew what measures to take. So far the volunteer Healers agreed with them and hadn't looked. It was also effective in screening out any journalists who thought they could sneak their way in. Twenty qualified Healers weren't about to let some unscrupulous leech in and potentially tamper with a patient's health.

And after he finished this batch of Dreamless Sleep potion, he had to head up to check on Draco's progress and to make sure Harry wasn't regressing. Draco was making good progress but the simple fact was that the bone was taking its time to shrink away. He'd still look like a giant porcupine by the end of May and would be in the infirmary at least until the middle of August the way things were looking. Harry was treated as delicate; they knew he was breathing and that he was alive. But that was about it. Every single test Poppy performed came back with an inconclusive result. They were at their wits end with Harry.

But, then again, this was nothing new to Severus. He was accustomed to the fact that nothing was ever as simple as it should be when it came to Harry.

"What did you want to chat about?" he asked gruffly as he stirred the cauldron.

"I was wondering how you were doing," Albus said. "Miss Granger seemed quite worried that you were wearing yourself out."

"Unfounded." He replied quickly; a bit too quickly.

Albus looked at Severus from over his glasses. "Is there something you wish to tell me?"

"Nothing," Severus said tightly; tell Albus…right… that was tantamount to packing his bags and never coming back. He wasn't quite ready to give up on the DADA position. "Absolutely nothing. When are you starting up classes again?"

"That is a bit of a problem. Half of the student population is able to attend. But those in the hospital wing will be coming out at various times. Quite a predicament, you see."

"Indeed."

"But we do need to prepare for the students that will be coming in September."

Severus bit his tongue. A summer spent teaching a bunch of brats that would be ranging from denial to melancholic in emotions. Didn't he sacrifice enough to avoid something like this? Did he have to voluntarily slice off a leg or arm to get some peace and quiet in the summer?

"So I've talked to the administrators of the N.E.W.Ts and O.W.Ls. They quite agree that those taking DADA, Charms and an assortment of other subjects should get an automatic Acceptable given the situation and the work that they did. If they wish to boost the grade they can take the examination. Should they fail it, they will still receive a pass."

"Just what subjects exactly?" he asked warily.

"That depends on what the student is studying," Albus paused. "Quite an ingenious idea if I do say so myself. The examiners looked relieved when I suggested it."

"Had you not…"

"Why, an entire school year might have been lost. The students would have finished around December. There'd be no Christmas break, they'd graduate in March… no, no, it's much easier this way. Less exams, less stress and less that you will have to teach."

"Albus, what subjects are being considered?"

"Oh let me see…" Albus was lost in thought. "Potions, DADA, Charms, Elementary Healing… I can't remember any more. They sent me a list that's quite long. It's in my office if you wish to look at it in more detail."

Severus nodded his head curtly as he outed the fire beneath the cauldron. "What will happen if Potter doesn't wake up?"

"He'll have to be transferred to St. Mungo's," Albus said after a long moment. "His relatives will have to be informed and…"

He tuned out the things Albus began listing off. He had a feeling that Harry wouldn't want his relatives contacted about him in any way.

"…until he wakes up." Albus finished.

"You know," Severus began slowly. "Potter seemed convinced that you knew of a way to defeat the Dark Lord."

"I knew of a way to defeat Voldemort, yes," Albus paused Severus hissed. "Come now, he's dead and gone. You need not act so."

Severus simply gave Albus a look. "And may I ask why you chose to not divulge it?"

"There are reasons," Albus said slowly after a few minutes of silence. "Mainly there was still the risk of Voldemort entering Harry's mind."

"Are you implying –"

"On the contrary; I believe you taught Harry to the best of your ability and did an exemplary job. But one can never be too sure. He could easily extracted the information from you or Lucius, a wide number of things could have been leaked."

He pursed his lips tightly; he didn't believe what he was hearing. "I see. And what we devised was a much better idea?"

"In some manners, yes."

"And what happened to that thing you always supported, hm? What about giving him a choi–"

That was all Severus got in, since a sharp rap came from the door. He glared up at the door. Who dared to knock on the door to his private lab? He stalked over to the door and threw it open to find himself facing Percy Weasley, who looked a bit hesitant and unsure.

"Weasley." He said coldly.

"Professor."

Severus smirked. "And just what brings you here?"

"I was looking for headmaster Dumbledore and was informed that he was here," Percy peered around him. "It's nice to see you again, Sir."

"Very!" Albus beamed. "Won't you come in?"

Severus scowled as Percy slipped past him and drew up a seat beside Albus. "Fine, come right in. Make yourself at home. Would you like a pair of slippers and some tea?" he groused as he walked back to his cauldron.

"And how goes it at Ministry?"

"Busy," Percy said. "I had to block off time during my schedule to come and discuss this with you."

"Discuss what?" Severus snarled.

"Harry."

"What is there to discuss?" Albus asked, heading off Severus' livid reply.

Severus was fed up. His lab was being used a chatting place and he was already behind from the interruptions. He bottled the Dreamless Sleep and placed them in a carry all. He was just walking to the door when Percy's voice stopped him.

"You may want to stay and hear this as well Sir. It might explain just what happened to Harry."

He froze at the door and turned around slowly. "Just what are you blithering about?"

Percy's ears went red but he didn't look abashed. He looked irritated instead. "If you had bothered to listen and not tune out what I was saying you would know; I don't like repeating myself more than once."

An appalled sound rose in the back of Severus' throat but he swallowed it down.

"Now, we gathered from Death Eater testimony that Harry said two words after using the Killing Curse on You-Know-Who. Oblivisci anima…"

Severus scowled further; this rumour had been flying around for awhile now.

"It is a very obscure curse; a curse that fell into disuse because it was deemed as inhumane during the eleventh century," Percy began. "How he even knew of its existence –"

"I think I have a fairly good idea." Severus ground out, realising what Hermione must have been going on about.

"Yes well, it had the desired effect of obliterating He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's very soul. I'm guessing Harry's in a comatose state right now? Just breathing? Can't get any test results on him?"

"And just how the blazes do you know this?!"

"Ministry files and old sealed records of when the curse was actually used. It causes the caster to fall into a comatose state because of the sheer amount of magic it requires. It takes a massive amount and requires a contribution from the wizard's energy as well."

"Energy, magic, same thing," Severus muttered in irritation. "If that is all –"

"No, that is not all; you will be quiet and listen if you want to keep him alive, am I understood?" Percy said in a harsh tone.

Severus gave Percy his coldest look and crossed his arms. "Then hurry it up. I do have a patient to go check on."

"Energy and magic are not the same thing," Percy said. "They are two very different things. Magic, his own raw magic, is what's probably keeping him alive right now. It's depleted yes, but some of it remains and that's what keeps him breathing and alive. His… essence, his energy is the main force that drove the Oblivisci anima curse. And that is why he is comatose now."

"His essence… are you referring to his soul?" Severus demanded.

"No, his soul is still in his body. That is, unless he's cold when you touch him; that would indicate that his soul is gone. He's not is he?"

Severus shook his head. "Explain this better and I might have an idea of what you're attempting to explain."

"His energy, essence…" Percy ran a hand through his hair. "Cripes, it was easier to deal with the idiots that wanted to prosecute him."

"Prosecute?" Severus narrowed his eyes.

"Yeah, said he'd used an Unforgivable, needed to stand trial like the rest. I'm not an idiot. A jury would take one look at him and vote not guilty immediately, waste of money that's all it would be," Percy frowned. "It's like he's suffering from an extreme form of lethargy. Only it's so extreme that if something's not done about it, he could die."

Severus' gaze lingered on Percy for a moment longer before he looked at Albus, who just happened to be popping a lemon sherbet in his mouth. "Didn't I forbid those in here? Especially after what happened when one accidentally made its way into a brew. " he asked icily.

Percy looked around and both he and Severus were rewarded with Albus' guilty expression. The candy was swallowed hastily. Severus sighed heavily as he opened the door.

"I do believe we are done Albus."

"I suppose we can finish our talk later," Albus said. "I was feeling rather peckish."

Severus watched as Albus reached into a pocket once he stepped into the hallway and removed a small bag of the candies and popped another one in his mouth. Severus closed the door and looked back at Percy.

"A lethargy so extreme he may die?"

"Yes," Percy paused. "Think of it like this. You have a potion that was once potent, could fully do as it was supposed to. Now, it's little better than water; plain simple water."

"So what he needs is an infusion?"

"Precisely," Percy replied. "But you have to make sure that the donor will have some sort of compatibility with him. Otherwise, it won't do much good." He reached in his pocket and drew out a sheaf of notes. "This is the information we have compiled so far," he walked over to Severus, tucking it into the carryall. "If we discover anything new, I'll have it owled to you immediately."

Severus inclined his head slightly. "Now, if you don't mind, I have a patient to attend to."

"As you wish Sir. Er… you wouldn't happen to know if Ron is…" Percy laughed. "What am I thinking, asking you a question like that? Never mind. A pleasure to see you again Sir."

Severus watched as Percy slipped past him and opened the door. Politics certainly agreed with him. He walked out of his lab and locked the door before making his way up the steps, looking over the papers and the surprisingly thorough information they contained. He'd have to remember to have a talk with Hermione later on. The topic of spells and ethical usage seemed like an ideal topic.


	19. Chapter 18

_**Come the Maëlstrom**_

_Chapter 18_

There were many words for it. Fate, fortune, chance, luck, karma, dharma, call it what you liked, but Lucius was sure of a few things about it; one was that it was more than likely a woman; two was that she was a sadist; three was that she was fickle; four was that she enjoyed watching him suffer like this; and five was that she was an outright bitch.

At the moment, he was sitting up in his hospital bed, watching the assistant Healer prepare his pain-killing draught. It was supposed to kill the pain in his back. That what it was supposed to do when his Healer last came to examine him; the only problem was that it didn't work and he'd started using expletives that became steadily worse until he brought down the threat of a curse on the 'inept Healer'. That had sent the Healer bolting from the room.

The next day, he found himself under Auror guard. Two Aurors actually; one was Tonks and some other woman who went by the name Okolo.

They were talking to themselves, glancing over occasionally. He scowled as the nurse handed him the small glass of potion. He reached for it stiffly and raised his arms, drinking it slowly so as not to make a mess. He handed it back and the assistant took it from him quickly before she darted from the room.

"...Do you really think that it's now Healer Sargad?" Okolo whispered. "I mean she usually –"

"Hey! I'm related to him!" Tonks protested loudly. "I don't want to hear that!"

"You are?!" Okolo glared at her. "How the bloody hell are you related to him?"

Lucius scowled, hearing the way Okolo said 'him'.

"He's my aunt's husband or something like that," Tonks frowned. "Hm, come to think of it, no one's been able to find Narcissa. She vanished as well as some other Death Eaters."

Lucius snorted; she'd probably vanished with the other Death Eaters. "If you wished to keep this conversation private," he began. "You may wish to not speak so loudly so others can hear."

Okolo and Tonks looked over, startled for a moment. At that precise moment, the door opened once more and a dark haired woman walked in briskly, looking over some parchment. Lucius watched her, realizing she could be no taller than five five or six.

"So, Mr. Lucius Malfoy... my, this is an honour," she looked up at him with an arrogant sort of smirk. "Conversing with your observers? I could hear your bitching from outside the door."

Both Tonks and Okolo swallowed their laughter but a few snickers escaped. Lucius scowled at them before turning his head to look squarely at the woman by his bedside.

"And did Healer Harrah send you in here?" he sneered.

"Yes and no," the woman snorted. "He seemed ready to piss his pants when I said he had to isolate your ailment. So I'll be taking over for him; all voluntarily too might I add. That bloody idiot owes me..." she gave a disgruntled sigh and placed the papers on the bedside table. "So, have you been given your pain killing potion?"

Lucius simply arched an eyebrow. "And you are who exactly?"

"Idun, Idun Sargad," she said briskly. "I'd shake your hand but I don't want to aggravate anything; you seem to have some trouble moving your upper body, correct?"

"Correct. Did you read that on my file?"

"No, I saw it in the way you moved your entire head to look at me. Most people simply swivel their torso. Honestly, how Harrah made it through Avalon Academia is beyond me..."

"Bloody incompetent fool..." he muttered.

"Never thought I would agree with a Death Eater," Idun snorted. "So, I repeat again: have you been given your pain killing potion?"

Lucius nodded his head. "It better work this time around."

"I have no doubt it will," Idun said absently. "Now, if you can manage it, I would like you to hitch up your gown and lay on your stomach."

"I beg your pardon?" Lucius didn't quite believe what he was hearing.

"You heard me. If you can't do it yourself, I'm quite sure that I can fetch an orderly or even do it myself. Now make up your mind; I haven't got all day Mr. Malfoy."

"If you think –" he began.

"Mr. Malfoy, if anything, you owe me this."

"I owe you?" he gave a derisive laugh. "I think not."

"Oh I think so. You and my brother certainly had your fun. But _I'm_ the one who had to treat his tender ass every night."

Lucius narrowed his eyes.

"Oh, don't tell me you've forgotten Roth already. He'll be sorely disappointed." Idun murmured.

Roth S. meaning Roth Sargad. Fate really was a bitch; a sadistic, evil bitch who must have cackling insanely at him and getting one massive kick from this whole situation. He grumbled and started to turn onto his stomach.

"If you will excuse me ladies," Idun's voice sounded a touch too crisp for his liking. "I have a patient to diagnose."

The sound of curtains being snapped shut came. Lucius was grateful for at least that. He managed to flop on his stomach. This time he felt absolutely nothing.

"All right, that will do Mr. Malfoy. I'll do the rest."

He didn't say anything as the blankets were thrown back to his feet and the tie at the back of his neck undone. The rustle of cloth came now as Idun opened the gown, with perplexed sounds coming from her throat.

"Do you know what curse you were hit with?" Idun finally asked, puzzlement in her voice.

"If I knew, don't you think I would have said so already?" Lucius hissed.

"Good point," Idun lapsed into silence for a moment. "How odd... there have only been textbooks examples of this."

"Textbook examples of what?" Lucius demanded.

"Give me a moment," Idun snapped. "I want to make sure. Now where did I put my wand?"

Lucius fumed in silence, staring ahead as patting sounds came now. He was certainly grateful for the curtains now. What a sight this must be; Lucius Malfoy on his stomach, ass exposed for the world to see, and waiting for a woman to do whatever thing she had planned to him with her wand.

"Lumina thyrsus,"

He could feel the wand tip just against his skin as it was dragged down to the top of his tailbone. Strange warmth followed the wand tip and when it left his skin, it vanished away.

"Well... this certainly explains the problem."

"And that would be what?" he demanded testily.

"Your vertebrae; all your thoracic and lumbar vertebrae; they're all fused together, the bone that is; the nerves and discs are fine. Be glad your cervical ones escaped, or you wouldn't even be able to turn your head. But the bone is all fused together, as well as almost the entire lower half of your ribs. No wonder you've been so stiff and bitchy."

"Bloody healing jargon; explain it in words any normal wizard could understand." Lucius growled.

"Basically your neck is fine and upper and lower back is immobile. You can't twist, bend anything like that; you do and break or even crack something and you'll paralyze yourself from that point down. Am I understood? I will leave explicit instructions with your Aurors. If you break your back, it's their heads I'll collect as trophies."

Lucius gave a genuinely amused sound at the sudden silence that came from the other side of the curtain. He felt his gown being done back up when Tonks' hesitant voice came now.

"Erm, may we have a world with you Healer Sargad?"

"Once I am finished with my diagnosis and explain the treatment." Idun replied. "You can turn back over Mr. Malfoy."

Lucius struggled to turn back over. Once he managed to right himself, he found Idun was just starting to open the curtain. At she let him keep what his dignity.

"Can we have that word now?" Okolo demanded.

"Have I said anything about treatment yet?" Idun mused as she turned and faced Lucius. "Now, I have a theory about how to solve your problem."

"Theory? Meaning hasn't been tested yet and you want to use me as the test rat."

"If you wish to look at it so bluntly," Idun shrugged. "Basically what will happen is that I will contact your personal Healer, if you have one, and get your medical records. Then we shall have to devise a potion tailored for your physiology."

"You've yet to say anything I didn't know or understand, Lucius said dryly.

Idun snorted. "What essentially needs to be done is to have your bones separate back out to their original state. We'll start with the lower ones so you can be semi-comfortable when you sit down. I'm guessing it will take only a week at most to deal with the paperwork and then about two to three weeks to develop the potion necessary before we can get started on the treatment."

"How long will it take?" Lucius asked; he didn't like the fact she kept skirting that; Healers were quick to tell you the expected recovery time.

Idun didn't say anything for a long moment. "This is a rough estimate, but the treatment should start around next week, heading into the middle of May. Given the extent of the fused bones and other things to take into account, you'll probably be out of here around late September. It might be less time or more time, dependant on certain factors."

"Such as?"

"Well your physiology for starters. Some people just heal faster than others, and the strength of magic is a factor as well. If a wizard's own magic resists and attempts to subvert the treatment, it can create a longer recovery time. That or if their magic is badly depleted. If it's agreeable, then you just might be out of here in early August, and that's if you're lucky."

"Small mercies..." Lucius muttered, wondering how fate would decide to screw him over again.

"And your personal Healer's name is..."

"Hansberry. Bruce Hansberry."

"Ah, well then, all that said and done, I shall take my leave now. I have an owl to send to Mr. Hansberry," Idun gave him a sardonic smirk. "Try to not go anywhere."

Lucius glared at her as she walked out of the room with a definite spring in her step. Both Tonks and Okolo followed her out similar expressions of amusement. He was starting to remember why he didn't like this place.

* * *

Six hundred and fifty six; well, he'd reached the end of counting the small tiles on the ceiling above his bed and had managed to waste four hours. And now he had absolutely nothing to do. There was nothing to do and he bored out of his mind. Besides, counting the tiles had helped distract from the worried feeling that had developed in the pit of his stomach. He shifted a bit in an effort to make himself comfortable. His treatment was due to start in a day and he honestly couldn't wait. The sooner he didn't have to suffer this pain, the better.

Okolo glanced in his direction but didn't say anything. Tonks had gone to get them lunch. His lunch sat on its tray on the wheeled table, still covered. He had no appetite to eat with this incessant worry needling at him. And he certainly didn't feel like eating when that blasted Auror looked his way every time he shifted or made a slight motion. At least Tonks was much more... affable. The sullen silence in the room was disturbed when a knock came on the door.

Okolo rose and answered the door, blocking the entranceway. "And you are?"

"Valerian Slean Nihilare, barrister for a Mr. Lucius Malfoy; a pleasure to meet you Miss..."

"Okolo, just Okolo."

"Ah, a pleasure to meet you Okolo. I'm wondering if I might have a word with my client. There are some pressing matters I need his decisions for. This is his room, correct?"

He watched as Okolo stepped aside. There was Valerian in his usual navy blue robe, slacks and white shirt and gloves. Sometimes he wondered if there was anything else in the man's closet.

"His trial, I presume?" Okolo asked.

"Among many other things," Valerian said cheerily. "This isn't a problem today is it? I can come back tomorrow. Or the day after that and so on..."

"Just get it over with now," Okolo said in a disgusted tone as she waved him in. "But I'll be keeping an eye on you. And no whispering."

"As you wish, ma'am."

Lucius' lip curled into a sardonic smirk as Valerian gave a little bow before making his way over to Lucius' bedside, pulling up Tonks' chair. "How kind of you to visit."

"I figured you'd enjoy the company," Valerian said as he opened his briefcase on the small bedside table. "There are a few things that need to be discussed."

"Well, I suggest we start. It looks like Okolo is dying to curiosity," Lucius mused. "And when do they want me in the courtroom?"

"Well, it was immediately, but once I learned of your condition, I immediately petitioned the judge to hold off on that until you can at least sit somewhere for a few minutes. She's asking that you show your face during the proceedings at least once if you able. Should you make a complete recovery during the trial, you will have to show up each day."

Lucius nodded. "So they've started without me?"

"Yes and the prosecution has a good amount of evidence stacked up against you. Unless you can provide evidence to refute their claims..."

"Perhaps I should hear the list of charges against me."

"Here," Valerian reached into his briefcase and handed him a sheaf of paper. "A full breakdown."

Nothing sounded in the room save for the sound of paper being turned. Blackmail, murder, fraud, everything was written out clearly. Lucius curled a lip as he continued reading. Well, he certainly would be walking a free man with a tarnished reputation.

"The problem of furtive plans..." he murmured.

"Pardon?" Valerian asked.

"Nothing."

"Well, if you know of anyone I can subpoena for testimony in your defen–"

"Don't you think I've ruined enough lives as it is? Dragging someone unwillingly to the trail of an infamous Death Eater certainly won't help," Lucius said abruptly. "Leave them be; if they want to testify, they will."

"But Lucius –" Valerian began.

"I believe I've made myself perfectly clear." Lucius said as he handed the sheaf back to Valerian.

Valerian took it reluctantly and placed it back in his briefcase and pulled something else out. "Now, I have another matter; a matter concerning Grimmauld Place, Sirius Black's final wishes and Harry Potter."

Lucius gave Valerian a guarded look. "And it may be?"

"As per the instructions in Sirius Black's will, it has full three years since he last contacted me and so I must disperse his estate. Harry Potter is supposed to own Grimmauld Place however; there is a slight problem with that."

"And that would be..."

"Sirius Black is the full owner and his will was made a few days after the Potters' demise. That makes the will legal and binding. His prisoner status though, stripped him of anything he might own. So Sirius Black did not own Grimmauld Place the minute he stepped foot in Azkaban. But because his will was legal and binding, that left Grimmauld Place in trust to Narcissa Black until Harry reached the age specified in Sirius' will."

Lucius frowned; this was why he couldn't be bothered with wizarding law. It was full of so many conflicting things; it was best to bother only with what he could make useful. "And what age would that be?"

"Seventeen. If Harry reached the age of seventeen and I had not heard from Sirius for three continuous years, I was to assume that he had died and to disperse his estate."

"So what is the problem?"

"Sirius forgot to fill out a form when he sent me the paperwork. What this means is that Harry Potter only owns Grimmauld Place in name, not in actuality. Narcissa is the one who does."

"My, my..." Lucius mused in amusement. "The mutt never could do anything properly. Just how did you come by information?"

"By going through Sirius will and by the attention of a Miss Hermione Granger. Have you ever had the distinct pleasure of meeting her? She was quite concerned about some of the legal issues concerning Mr. Potter."

"I have no doubt..." Lucius said, curling his lip.

"She's quite a brilliant young witch. Doesn't miss a flick of the wand. It was quite fascinating to discuss the subtleties between estate law and ministry law with –"

"If you can halt the praise and adoration and continue on..."

Valerian's face went a slight red. "Well, I won't get into it any further but once Ms. Granger was informed of this, she asked what could be done to clear it up immediately."

"And?"

"Did you know that there is an obscure Wizarding law that says the husband has complete control over anything the wife inherits during the marriage?"

Lucius arched an eyebrow in surprise.

"It's a obscure bit of Wizarding law that hasn't been changed since the thirteenth century. No one really knows about it aside from lawyers."

"So what do I have to sign?"

"If you can sign it; it's just this affidavit that states you sign over complete ownership of Grimmauld Place to Harold James Potter," Valerian smiled. "And then little headache is almost over with."

Lucius' eyes cast around for quill. When he looked back at Valerian, the man already had one out and had stiffened the parchment. He picked up the quill and signed, ignoring the massive protest his shoulder decided to mount against him.

Valerian looked at the parchment and gave a satisfied sound and nod of his head. "Now for the last thing; in regards to your wife, she has –"

"Her again?" Lucius groaned with a disgusted tone.

"Already filed a petition for divorce."

"As she is currently missing?" Lucius looked at Valerian incredulously. "And she filed?"

"She filed on the day of the sixth; it only reached me today," Valerian explained. "Here are the basics of it. I'm guessing you'll just want to out and out leave her. She has made her stance very clear.

Lucius didn't say anything as he looked over the papers. He gave a dry laugh as he handed them back to Valerian. "I think you know exactly what to do."

"What you specified before?" Valerian placed it back and closed his briefcase with a snap and a grin. "How fortunate for you that you signed a prenuptial agreement, hm?"

"The wisdom of foresight and knowing Narcissa has a sometimes shoddy memory. I do suggest that you request a different lawyer to represent Narcissa if you can."

"And why is that?"

"As I recall, she was sleeping with her current one. Doesn't that create a conflict of interests?"

"In a way but I'll do as you suggested. The less I have to see of her, the better." Valerian chuckled as he picked up his briefcase and rose. "Try to get better soon. For some reason, suffering your trial isn't as much fun without you there to mutter snide things."

"How you flatter..." Lucius snorted.

Valerian grinned as he walked out of the room with a wave. Lucius didn't say anything as Okolo rose, closed the door and settled back down in her seat. The sullen silence in the room came back once more and he found himself wishing he had a book to read or something. He didn't know how long it was but when Tonks came clattering into the room, he felt a surge of momentary relief before the worry overpowered it.

"What, you're not eating?" Tonks asked when she glanced in his direction. 

Lucius simply curled his lip which had come to mean a shrug. Tonks tutted as she came and sat in her seat in the bed.

"Healer Sargad said we have to make sure you don't have to break your back and I intend to do just that."

"How? By force feeding me?" he said derisively even as Tonks reached over for the tray.

"Yup. Can't have you getting weak on us; that'll just increase the chances. So either shut up and eat or bitch about it while I stuff it down your throat. It's your choice."

He scowled at Tonks as she removed the cover from his lunch with a flourish and Okolo broke out into peals of laughter. Fate, for all he cared, could burn to death in the deepest pit in hell.


	20. Chapter 19

_**Come the Maëlstrom **_

_Chapter 19_  
  
It had taken him ten years but he had finally placed his finger on it; he now knew why he was so uncomfortable in Albus' office. The warm welcoming clutter reminded him of a robe he had as a teenager. It was perfectly fine when you initially wore it but after awhile, it started chafing and became generally uncomfortable but you suffered it because that was all there was.  
  
At the moment Albus was sitting in his seat, sucking on a lemon sherbet and playing with something between his fingers. This had to be the first time he saw a genuinely puzzled expression on the old man's face.  
  
"Albus?" Severus began after he cleared his throat.  
  
"Mm?" he looked up. "Oh yes, I did want to have a chat with you." He managed around the lemon sherbet.  
  
"What was it..." he watched as Albus' fingers twisted. "What are you doing?"  
  
Albus held up his finger to reveal that they were caught in a Chinese finger trap. How one of them managed to make its way into Albus' office. Severus did not want to know. But he would have liked an explanation as to what could only be described as Albus' sudden bout of forgetfulness.  
  
"I've managed to get my fingers stuck in this; someone's charmed it, so I have to do something particular to get my fingers out."  
  
Perhaps it wasn't the fact that Albus was forgetful, but simply managed to misplace that eccentric mind of his somewhere.  
  
What was it you wished to discuss with me?" Severus couldn't quite stop watching Albus' struggles with the finger trap.  
  
"How are classes going?"  
  
He snorted. "Fine."  
  
Classes had resumed about two weeks ago. Only an additional twenty minutes had been added on – ten at the beginning for the students to arrive and settle in and another ten at the end so they could all collect up their things and file out. He wasn't pleased with the end result which meant his day ended two and half hours later than usual. While a large percent of the student body reacted well under the pressure, they seemed to return to the normal state of idiocy, barring any Ravenclaw and Hermione Granger for some peculiar reason. And that was not counting the number of students that turned to him counselling; the battle left far more emotional scars that physical ones.  
  
"How soon do you think they'll be ready for examinations?" Albus asked absently. "Most of the others are saying around late July."  
  
"I agree. It's June already. They have basically taught themselves most of the stuff and very little needs to be supplied in."  
  
"And what about the students in the infirmary?'  
  
"The ones that can write are doing their work. Should they be able to, they'll take the examinations in July with the rest."  
  
"And the others?"  
  
"It all depends on when they have use of their hands once more."  
  
"And young Mr. Malfoy?"  
  
"Improving; the spikes are shortened and don't threaten to impale anyone should he move. But he still can't really move around too much and Poppy's strictly keeping him to bed for awhile. It will be a bit longer she allows any sort of assignments to him."  
  
"And Harry?"  
  
Severus didn't say anything for a long moment. "We're attempting the infusion tonight."  
  
"Should it prove successful..."  
  
"I daresay he'll be running around again in no time and will be out of here by September."  
  
"September?"  
  
"Surely you've noticed his unusually fast recovery time, regardless of what occurred."  
  
"Hm," Albus didn't say anything for a moment. "If it is successful, then perhaps we shouldn't inform him of recent developments. It's important that he gets better soon rather than have him getting worked up. It may have a detrimental effect on his health."  
  
"Of course," Severus mused. "That should also help him to focus solely on his work."  
  
He decided to bite his tongue on the fact that Albus was, yet again, depriving Harry of a choice regarding his own life.  
  
"I'm sure he would be glad to graduate as soon as possible."  
  
"I concur; he certainly doesn't need to be here any longer than necessary."  
  
Albus didn't say anything for a moment. "I had hoped you'd give up your vitriol towards him."  
  
"If you can't tell..." Severus gave an amused little smirk.  
  
Nothing was said for a moment as Albus finally swallowed his lemon sherbet. "I've been giving this some careful consideration..."  
  
Severus didn't say anything as Albus trailed off. When he started a conversation like this, it was best to worry some more.  
  
"There are still Death Eaters at large and they might come after Harry. Here he is protected but he cannot stay once he has completed his education; Hogwarts will have to be cleared out by everyone since some major repairs are needed that house elves alone cannot look after."  
  
He had to agree with Albus there. There were the broken front doors, and the entire set of windows on the third floor that were smashed in. Obliterated walls, ruined staircases, an entire tower destroyed... major repairs were needed. No one could stay here for the summer. But he also had a feeling that Harry would be far from thrilled if he was told that he had to go back to the Dursleys. Come to think of it, when he had to mention them, it was never by name and with a curiously blank look on his face.  
  
"The Dursleys?" he sneered  
  
"I could hardly ask you or Minerva to take him in for the summer. Besides, the wards on the home will protect him."  
  
Severus snorted; what did wards matter if there was something on the inside that made Harry act in such a manner when just talking about the Dursleys. Something was obviously wrong with that familial relationship.  
  
"Is there something wrong?" Albus looked at him.  
  
"Any Death Eater that really wants to kill Potter will find a way." He muttered. "And the Muggles?"  
  
"All the more reason he should go back; it protected him for the past 17 years. I'm sure he'll understand that it's for his own safety until the last few Death Eaters are caught," Albus paused for a moment, eating another lemon sherbet. "Ernesto and Valencia will be returning to their farm once a Fidelus charm has been applied. I daresay the Order members there will be glad to leave."  
  
"Of course..." Severus did his best to look bored. "If that is all..."  
  
"I know you're very busy; I won't keep you from your work any longer."  
  
Severus inclined his head and rose, walking out of the office and heading down to his own. Sometimes, he simply couldn't believe that old man. The sheer nerve he had sometimes. There was no need for Albus to continue meddling in Harry's life; he wasn't some silly little child any longer and was perfectly capable of making his own decisions. A scowl plastered itself to his face as he stomped down into the dungeons. What he wasn't expecting to see was Hermione sitting outside his classroom door, legs tucked up and her head resting on them as she dozed peacefully.  
  
"Bloody hell," he growled as he walked over and shook her awake more gently than he intended.  
  
"Hrm?" she looked up at him groggily. "Perfector..." she slurred.  
  
Wonderful, simply wonderful; he wasn't paid enough for this job. He opened his classroom door and picked her up, carrying her in. A slight flush came to his face as she snuggled in closer, an arm going around his neck, murmuring softly in her sleep about... something. He went into his office and unceremoniously deposited her in his chair. She started at the impact, looking around blearily.  
  
"Now Miss Granger," he began. "Is there a reason why you decide to wait for me?"  
  
"I wanted to talk." She said, attempting to stifle a yawn while rubbing at her eyes.  
  
It didn't last for long and she yawned fully and stretched. Severus found himself watching the curves that suddenly decided to press against the robe before she relaxed and it disappeared into the amorphous shape of the black cloth. When on Earth did Hermione Granger get curves like that? Hell, he could still remember the way they felt. But the question was when, not what they felt like. Wait a moment; that wasn't even the question at hand. The flush on his face darkened even more as he cleared his throat and looked at a stack of books just past her.  
  
"How very fortunate for me; I think it's time we had a talk as well,"  
  
"Good," Hermione began. "Then we –"  
  
"About the ethical usage of spells Miss Granger especially obsolete ones."  
  
Hermione didn't say anything for a moment. "Any one in particular?"  
  
"Oblivisci anima," he hissed, slightly irritated. "Don't attempt to play that game with me. That spell is the current reason why Potter is lying in the infirmary hovering between life and death."  
  
"You think I don't know that!" Hermione shot back as she left the seat. "I obviously missed something in my research. But did I get a chance to even tell Harry that he should only use it as a last resort? No! Hell, he packed me and Ron off right after getting out of that room! I barely see him when he teaching, let alone anywhere else!"  
  
"That is irrelevant!" Snape spat. "Shall I assume that Oblivisci is where the Obliviate curse originated from?"  
  
"Yes," Hermione admitted. "Its original form is much more potent. But it was clearly directed at a soul, not at Harry himself! True, it did require a lot of magic but I fail to see how it's directly responsible for his current condition! There must be other factors!"  
  
"Oh, there are; ones you obviously didn't come across in your research since the large bulk of information was sealed away in the Ministry!" he snapped. "What possessed you to suggest an eight hundred year old spell!? Did it occur to you that there might be a reason why it became obsolete!"  
  
"Just because it's deemed obsolete by some idiot doesn't mean that it doesn't have uses."  
  
"Yes; just look at the spectacular result that it achieved," he crossed his arms and sneered. "Tell me, just what do you know about that spell?"  
  
Hermione scowled at him. "It wasn't really used after the eleventh century; the books weren't too clear on why. But Oblivisci was a charm used to obliterate certainly things of a... for lack of a better word, astral nature; souls, that sort of thing."  
  
"And that's it?"  
  
"Yes," Hermione said with a nod of her head. "Why?"  
  
He pressed his middle finger and thumb against his temples. "The Oblivisci anima spell also draws on a wizard's energy."  
  
Hermione's eyes went wide. "H-Harry's life force?"  
  
"Life force, chi, ki, essence, call it what you like. The fact remains that you indirectly tampered with Potter's life force and, if discovered, that is an offence punishable by up to nine years in Azkaban. I'm quite sure that imprints the severity of the act on you Miss Granger."  
  
Nothing was said for a long moment of silence as Hermione frowned, pacing back and forth. Finally she paused and looked at him.  
  
"Well, I cannot deny that it was me who did the research and Harry used it. However, had the complete information been present in the text, then this could have been avoided."  
  
Severus didn't say anything for a moment. "What section did you find the book in?"  
  
"The section is irrelevant," Hermione sputtered, her face going a slight red. "What matters is this obviously shoddy work; if this spell was deemed obsolete, it should only be found in record books, not in a book that gives the reader a description and leads them to believe that it is a perfectly safe and viable spell that can be used in certain situations."  
  
Severus knew what that translated as. "Ah, I see; so, on top of breaking Ministry law, you also broke Hogwarts rules and got this from a book in the Restricted Section."  
  
Hermione's face went a full red. "Well, what was I supposed to do!" she yelled in a slightly trembling voice. "Let my best friend walk out there absolutely unarmed! What kind of monster do you think I am?! Someone would have to be a monster to do that to Harry, especially after everything he'd done for us!! Voldemort could have killed him! If anything, I'd much rather have him this way than have him cold and dead with Voldemort running all of bloody England and me probably in a cage like some sort of animal!"  
  
"The fact of the matter, Miss Granger," Severus began as he stalked closer to her. "Is that you still broke a law, a very serious one, and a school rule. If you really wanted to help Potter what you _should_ have done was to seek the assistance of a professor and asked for their help with it. You could have even asked... Lupin," he ground out. "But you choose to believe that you would be right above all else and didn't require the aid of a professional," he snorted. "You should have –"  
  
A knock came on the door and he glared over when he heard it creak open to find Valerian peering around the door. It was Lucius' bloody cocky lawyer.  
  
"Ah Miss Granger I've been... are you all right?"  
  
He snarled and looked back at Hermione. He face was pale, jaw tight and her eyes seemed a touch wounded.  
  
"What do you want?" he spat, looking back at the man.  
  
"I was looking for Miss Granger. I felt it best to come and see her in person concerning the matters she firecalled me about."  
  
"That is impossible; no student has firecalling privileges."  
  
"Oh no?" Valerian mused as he stepped into the room, looking about. "This looks like the place she called me from. If students don't have firecalling privileges, then I certainly applaud her determination and resourcefulness."  
  
Severus turned back to find Hermione glaring at him defiantly, as if daring him to open his mouth and say something. He did open his mouth but Valerian spoke once more cutting him off.  
  
"I know you must be busy with classes Miss Granger and I don't mean to rush you but I did free up my entire evening."  
  
"I thought you had the Malfoy trial. Surely that must be a lot of work."  
  
Valerian shrugged, his face going red slightly. "This seemed fairly important to you, so I shuffled some things around. I daresay I'll regret it tomorrow when I won't get to sleep until four in the morning." He laughed a bit and scratched the back of his head. "I hope I wasn't interrupting anything."  
  
"No, you weren't. Professor Snape and I are done here," she said icily as she walked over to him.  
  
Severus resisted the urge to hex Valerian as he offered his hand and Hermione took it. It was even harder to resist that urge when Valerian tucked it under his arm and smiled at her.  
  
"I do believe we should find somewhere private to talk. This may take awhile to discuss."  
  
"Well, at least I know that _you'll_ be civil, Mr. Nihilare," she said. "I know the perfect place."  
  
And with that, they walked from the room. Valerian paused and closed the door behind him with a slight grin and mocking wink. Severus gave a vicious snarl and drew his wand and made a slashing motion. A display of empty vials shattered, falling to the floor. It didn't seem like that was enough and he proceeded to trash most of his office. By the time he lowered his wand, he was panting angrily and surveying the chaotic mess of the once orderly room.  
  
He gave a heavy sigh, feeling weary and drained. He would not even think about what had occurred here. He would go to his chambers and get some sleep since he had a very long night ahead of him.

* * *

The infirmary was silent as he opened the door and walked in closing it behind him. The Healers had been sent off to their rooms for the night. The air was filled with the usual night time sounds of snuffling, grunting and varying degrees of coughs. He made his way over to the curtained off section of the infirmary, slipping past the drawn curtain. Poppy was already there, checking over Harry. Minerva was standing there as was Seamus, who looked a bit pale and anxious in the dim light and faded pyjamas.  
  
"There you are Severus," Poppy murmured as she looked up.  
  
He snorted and made his way to the free side of the bed. "Well?" he murmured, sliding a glance at Seamus.  
  
"We have to try it tonight. See how shallow his breathing is getting? I'm afraid if that keeps up any longer, some parts of him may start to shut down from lack of oxygen."  
  
Severus placed a finger under Harry's nose, not feeling the rush of breath. Frowning, he summoned over a small mirror and placed it under Harry's nose. It barely misted. He nodded his head. "Have you –"  
  
"Mr. Malfoy has been moved to another part of the infirmary. I'll get everything set up. You can handle any of Seamus' last minute questions."  
  
He made a sound of displeasure as Poppy hurried off behind another section of curtain. Turning around he looked at Minerva and nodded his head curtly.  
  
"I trust I'll get Mr. Finnegan back in one piece?" Minerva's words were a question and a command rolled in one.  
  
"As if I would attempt something nefarious with one of your precious Gryffindors," he said easily. "You can leave now. This will take awhile."  
  
Minerva sighed. "Do attempt to get along with Professor Snape," she murmured. "If not for your sake then for his."  
  
Severus could have rolled his eyes at the overly dramatic gesture Minerva made at Harry's form. Seamus nodded his head. Once the curtain settled back into place, he turned his full gaze on the pyjama-clad Gryffindor.  
  
"Do you know why you were selected, Mr. Finnegan?"  
  
Seamus shook his head. "No."  
  
"No?" Severus asked in a warning tone.  
  
"No Sir." Seamus amended hastily.  
  
"No... take a good look at Potter. What do you think is wrong with him?"  
  
"...He looks comatose." Seamus said slowly.  
  
"Your observational skills seemed to have improved," he mused. "For lack of a better word, he is comatose. The final battle with the Dark Lord drained him of most of his magic and life energy."  
  
"You mean he's a Squib?!" Seamus gawked between him and Harry.  
  
"Did I say that Mr. Finnegan?" he took a deep breath; getting angry now wasn't going to help at all. "He still has magic and that is what is keeping him alive right now. While rest generally restores your life force, Potter's is so low at the moment that is not an option. It's weak and starting to fail. You were selected as you were the latest person that Potter was... intimate with. That provides the compatibility that is needed to save his life."  
  
"What do I need to do?" Seamus demanded.  
  
Why did all Gryffindors seem this prone to heroics and stepping in to save the day? Or rather, why did they make a big spectacle out of absolutely nothing?  
  
"What you need to do Mr. Finnegan," he snapped in exasperation. "Is to shut up and listen to my instructions very carefully."  
  
Seamus' face went red.  
  
"Poppy is bringing an extra bed and it will be placed beside Harry's. You will lightly take his hand – just one hand – and allow Poppy and I to commence the transfusion."  
  
"Sir," Seamus' brow furrowed. "Why exactly do I have to hold his hand?"  
  
"Because that will act as the link and allow some of your life energy to trickle down into him and get him started once more."  
  
"Well then why don't I just hug him or something? That should get it over with much quicker."  
  
Severus gritted his teeth, reminding himself he was dealing with a headstrong Gryffindor who was much worse than Harry at understanding subtleties.  
  
"If you wish to die quickly then by all means, hug him."  
  
"What?"  
  
"In Potter's current state, you hugging him would be equivalent to a massive jolt of power. His fading life force is apt to latch onto yours and drain you dry. By all means, do just that. I daresay that I'll be glad to be rid of your hasty stupidity."  
  
Seamus scowled. "What are you? A Healer?!"  
  
"Had I been wise enough to choose that career in my youth, I certainly wouldn't be having this conversation with you now."  
  
"Yeah, well," Seamus floundered for something. "Your bedside manner sucks!"  
  
"Proving once more that Miss Granger is the only one of you lot with any shred of wit." he mused wryly. "This will take most of the night and probably creep into the morning. There's Poppy with the bed; if you will Mr. Finnegan."  
  
Seamus turned and stomped over to the bed, practically throwing himself on it the moment it rested beside Harry's bed. Poppy gave Severus a highly disapproving look before she turned her attention to Seamus.  
  
"You might feel a momentary sensation, as if something is being sucked away from you. But that should be all. Both Professor Snape and I will be right here, monitoring you both."  
  
"How comforting..." Seamus muttered darkly as he pushed up his pyjama sleeves.  
  
Severus snorted as he watched Poppy set everything up and told Seamus to grasp Harry's hand. Seamus reached over but his hand hovered around Harry's not moving down. He suddenly looked apprehensive about this, as if he wasn't sure.  
  
"Are you positive I should do this?"  
  
"If you –"  
  
"Everything will be fine Mr. Finnegan." Poppy said, cutting Severus off. "If anything, you might find it a bit easier to deal with if you took a small nap."  
  
"All right..."  
  
Seamus took Harry's hand in his as he laid his head back against the pillow, with a nervous sort of sigh. Poppy didn't say anything as she watched Seamus very carefully. Severus' eyes were glued to Harry's before Poppy had to snap her fingers to catch his attention to perform the spell with her. After that, nothing came for a while and Seamus had obviously fallen back asleep when a dull pulsing glow started to make itself know. It was faint at first but brightened to a dull throb. One came from Seamus, a bright orange with yellow laced in between it. Then came Harry's, that infamous red-black he had heard so much about. When they both flared up, pulsing brightly, he rose from his seat and frowned. Poppy rose as well, hurrying over to his side.  
  
"The information on the procedure said nothing about this!" she murmured. "This is their magic!"  
  
"They're not exactly compatible," Severus murmured, taking in the manner in which the light was playing out. "Not as much as they should be but it is there."  
  
Poppy frowned. "True, it looks like it's settling down... Harry's magic seems to be fighting Seamus' as much as it can."  
  
"But it's losing. If anything, Seamus' is beating his into submission..." Severus frowned as the light settled back down to a dull glow. "This is odd but I don't think there's anything to be worried about."  
  
"Are you positive?" Poppy looked a bit anxious.  
  
"I'm quite positive," Severus said as he sat back down in his seat. "We'll just have to keep a much closer eye on the infusion."  
  
Poppy nodded her head slowly and made her way back to her seat. Severus settled back in his chair carefully, watching. He couldn't help but snort. Even though he was hovering between life and death Harry still made things difficult; so very like him.  
  
Silence filled the room now and the dull glow pulsated through the long hours. Sometimes, Poppy went to get them cups of coffee. Other times he went to get them a snack from the kitchen. But after that one incident, nothing else happened. It wasn't until dawn started to creep into the window that Severus looked at his watch.  
  
"Seven," he murmured as he rose, joints protesting after having been seated for so long.  
  
He walked over to Harry, noting the deep breaths that were coming and the thin line of drool making its way down his cheek. Wrinkling his nose, he placed a finger under Harry's nose. The breath was strong. On impulse, he flicked the tip of it hard. Harry's nose wrinkled and his eyes fluttered.  
  
"I'd say that's successful," Severus mused as he glanced towards the large window. "And with just enough time to spare."  
  
"Spare for what?" Poppy demanded wearily. "Shuffle off to bed as everyone gets up?"  
  
"Precisely."  
  
"You always were an odd one Severus," she chuckled. "Shall we– oh!"  
  
Severus looked down at the beds, to find both Harry curled up on his bed, still fast asleep. Seamus was curled up right behind Harry, an arm flung over the other's waist in a futile gesture of protection. They both were still fast asleep and the pulsing light scattering between the both of them. Well, that solved their problem.  
  
"I'll move Mr. Finnegan and get Mr. Malfoy back in here quickly." Poppy said.  
  
Severus watched as she attempted to levitate Seamus' slumbering body away. But the Irish boy fussed up, his arm tightening around Harry's waist. Poppy gave Severus a puzzled look before she sighed and pulled the blanket up over them and drew their curtains shut, hiding them away from view and then vanished away. He sat back down in his seat watching Harry's face until Poppy came back in with a groggy looking Draco. Severus could hear the sounds of Poppy settling the younger Malfoy to sleep before she appeared through the curtain again.  
  
"Severus, I don't know about you but once those Healers get here, I am going to go and rest." Poppy said with a yawn. "Are you going to be here a bit longer?"  
  
"Go," he said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "I'll wait here until you come back."  
  
Poppy gave him a smile of gratitude and hurried from the room. When looked over, he found himself greeted by Harry's startling clear gaze. He arched an eyebrow in silent question.  
  
"What time is it?" he croaked out in a hoarse voice. Harry frowned and pawed at his throat in puzzlement. "Was I out for long?"  
  
"As of today it's is just after seven in the morning of June," Severus paused doing some thinking. "9th."  
  
"June?!" Harry croaked hoarsely. "A month?!"  
  
Severus nodded his head. "Just rest today, if you can even manage that."  
  
Harry nodded his head slowly as he fell back against the pillow and raised a hand. His brow furrowed when a beaded chain fell out of it, the cross swinging like a pendulum. His gaze lingered on it in puzzlement.  
  
"Where did –"  
  
"You were paid a visit," Severus replied. "Now shut up –"  
  
"Sir?" Harry croaked, cutting Severus off.  
  
"What?" Severus demanded in a testy voice.  
  
Harry's gaze had now shifted to the sleeping boy beside him. "Why is Seamus in my bed?"  
  
"Just shut up and rest before you ruin your vocal chords as well," Severus muttered grumpily. "Everything will be explained later on."  
  
Harry nodded his head and he let his hand fall back against the bed. But the furrow in his brow remained as he stared up at the ceiling. Severus sighed and picked up the spare copy of the Daily Prophet and gently hit him on the head with it.  
  
"Rest." He ordered curtly.  
  
Harry gave a ghost of a grin. "Wonderful bedside manner."  
  
"Yes, Mr. Finnegan commented on the same thing earlier on. Now sleep or I will make you."  
  
Harry closed his eyes with a chuckle and drifted back off in a few minutes. Severus spent a bit longer watching Harry before he rose when the infirmary door opened and brought the sound of voices. Harry certainly wasn't going to like any of the things he was going to learn about later on. 


	21. Chapter 20

_**Come the Maëlstrom**_

_Chapter Twenty_

Lucius was sick and tired of this hospital room. He was sick of the immaculate whiteness that was only broken by the light green of his blanket; the ever present scent of pine antiseptic was infuriating – who had decided it should be pine anyhow? Salazar, even the way the light bounced off the pristine tiled floor infuriated him. And Tonks and Okolo... well he was civil to Tonks as she extended the same courtesy to him, but Okolo... he managed to derive much amusement in riling her up.

On the bright side, his treatment had progressed at a rapid pace. According to Idun, it was about three times faster than she had initially expected. It more than likely had to do with the fact that he was sick of this place and wanted nothing more than to be gone from here. Idun was anticipating him to be out of here in a few days now rather than September. It was heading into the fourth week of July and he was facing the ever lovely prospect of attending his trial.

From what he could gather from the bits and scraps of Tonks and Okolo's conversations, his trial was the most lengthy. Almost every other Death Eater trial had been a rather open and shut case. His just might drag on until late September or even longer, considering the tangled grey mess it had become. Valerian was doing all that he was paid for and more.

The crinkle of a page of being turned made him look up to find Tonks perusing a copy of Witch Weekly. "Is there anything else decent to read?"

"Not for you there isn't," Okolo replied as she perused her copy of the Daily Prophet. "Just sit there, shut up and look pretty why don't you?"

"I never knew you felt that way," he replied scathingly. "Miss Tonks?"

"Hm?" Tonks looked up. "Hm... lesse... the Visionary, another copy of the Daily Prophet... wow, I didn't know they still printed Oracular. I'm sending you for newspapers again next time Okolo."

Okolo gave a disgusted sigh but continued reading. Tonks looked through the paper and finally brought over two.

"There you go," she said. "One Daily Prophet and one Visionary. I can tell you now, since Percy got into office, he's been doing a really good job. Addressing the Dementor issue, concerns from werewolf groups, vampire groups, wizards demanding compensation, you name it. Not to mention the fact that he's performing a complete overhaul of Fudge's... antiquated staff members. New ideas are coming into the Ministry."

"How lamentable that I missed Umbridge's sacking."

"Crying shame is more like it. I would have liked to see her toady face explode. You know that she was at Hogwarts, right? The moment the Dark Lord attacked, she was fleeing from the school."

"And you know this via extrasensory abilities?"

"No," Tonks chuckled. "Another Auror, my friend, Shacklebolt. He caught her a few days later just outside Manchester. Don't know how she made it that far south, but she was a right mess apparently. Oh what I would have given to see that..."

"Don't you think you shouldn't talk to him? He's still a prisoner." Okolo looked up at Tonks from her newspaper.

"Doesn't mean he's not human. How would you like it if you were stuck in a bed with nothing to do and had a Healer than enjoyed teasing you?" Tonks replied.

Okolo didn't say anything for a long moment. "No wonder you don't get guard duty often."

Tonks stuck her tongue out at her before she looked back at Lucius. "She's really great but sometimes, I think she might have a wand or two crammed up her ass. Maybe three, who knows..."

Lucius pursed his lips, snapped out a newspaper and began reading it as Okolo glared over at Tonks. He was reading peacefully until he felt eyes resting on him. Lowering the paper, he found Tonks sitting beside his bed with an expectant expression on her face.

"What are you going to bother me with now?" he asked in slight irritation.

"Are you going to finish reading them any time soon?" Tonks simply grinned when arched an eyebrow. "I would like to discuss some of the things Percy has been doing."

"And she's nonexistent?" he glanced over to find Okolo bristling in her seat.

"No; she gets too worked up when talking politics, not to mention loud." Tonks said.

Lucius gave Tonks a slightly incredulous look before he turned his attention back to the newspaper. He took his time reading each one, making sure to acquaint himself with everything that had happened over the course of a month; this was the first time he'd gotten a newspaper in a long time. When he folded them and handed them back to Tonks, she looked at him eagerly.

"Well?"

"Well what? You haven't exactly specified a topic you wish to discuss."

"You're actually going to discuss something with me?"

"It should be much more stimulating and thought provoking that sparring with Okolo today," he said in a bored voice.

"If you don't mind –" Okolo began in an indignant voice.

"How about the werewolf groups, vampire groups, things along that line. It's a real hotwand issue at the moment."

"What about it?"

"Well, what do you think of Percy's stance?"

"To which group?"

"Jeez, you're awfully thorough," Tonks muttered. "Well, let's start with the vampires. Fudge really cracked down on them during his last few weeks in power. Relations between wizards and vampires before were...barely tenuous at best."

"Vampires are rather ruthless creatures by nature when they are riled. Weasley seems to be having some trouble dealing with that. They do not easily forget when they have been slighted and they will wring as much as they can from him."

"You think they'd push for more than he's already granted them? Hell, he's granted them way more than Fudge ever thought of."

"Precisely; they smell blood and will move in for the kill. Unless Weasley develops a much stronger backbone, they'll do their best to trample all over him. And once the werewolves see that..." Lucius trailed off.

"Hm, that is a good point. But the werewolf group is going about this much more carefully. They don't want to stir up any more public antagonism against them."

"People usually fear what they don't know. We know perfectly well what a werewolf is and yet we still fear them. Even with Wolfsbane, they're shunned and reviled. We fear what they represent and refuse to give them any more than a pittance."

"Well, what do you think of Percy's new werewolf legislation? That caused some curses to fly when he first proposed it."

"Curses from the people who aren't werewolves themselves; it's a sensible legislation. They're fully capable people, not invalids. They have two hands and a wand; they can still contribute to society. Those that take the Wolfsbane that is. That made his hardline stance on those that refused, and refuse, to take the potion even more justified. It even justified Fudge's Werewolf Registry."

"Ah, ah!" Tonks waggled a finger. "With one notable exception; Fudge made the list public. Percy has made it private now, open only to the department; that just protects their privacy. Merlin knows they got none of it when Fudge was in power."

"Fudge was a paranoid fool," Lucius snorted. "It was only a matter of time before he became a full dictator. He was becoming unpopular before but the sudden abductions of wizards and witches, not to mention the violations of rights and simple basic laws..." he shrugged.

"True. And Umbridge..." Tonks snorted. "Almost every single piece of legislation she drafted up favoured pureblood wizards only. It was tough enough for a halfblood to get a job much less a werewolf or vampire who was looking for legitimate work."

"And Fudge wondered why a criminal underworld was rampant. With Weasley opening up the job market those that Fudge marginalised, he's ensuring some brisk economic growth and there will probably be a sharp decline in black market activities. That is just what the Ministry needs after the way Fudge ran through Galleons."

"Business is not exactly my forte," Tonks said.

"Everyone will be rebuilding now and will need help, regardless of blood or what the potential employee is; so long as they have valuable skills and can make themselves useful, they'll be hired."

"So you see an end to this slight economic..." Tonks trailed off thinking of a word. "Decline?"

"The word is recession and yes, I do," Lucius said crisply. "Fudge created this recession with all the spending and chokehold on the market through Umbridge's legislations. Weasley is on the right track. Should he not be knocked off path by someone, he has a marginal chance in politics."

"Nice way to say he's doing well." Tonks chuckled quietly. "So you think Percy's welcoming of foreign investment is..."

"Minor intelligence," Lucius said after a moment of thought. "Undoubtedly there have been reports of events happening in England that kept investors away. With the Dark Lord gone and the economy secure, there should be an influx of foreign investors willing to put down the Galleons. The fact that the economy will be coming back out of a recession will, if anything, serve to win them over."

"I think it was clever of him to place a greater emphasis on bringing in other magical law enforcement wizards and witches from other countries," Tonks mused. "That and for teachers."

"Oh?" Lucius arched an eyebrow, knowing why but deciding to continue for the conversation's sake. "And why is that?"

"Well, that whole battle at Hogsmeade was nasty and a lot of Aurors were injured badly; as in they can't go into the field ever again. But they can certainly train the foreign wizards and witches that come and apply for that post, not to mention any students as well. This entire messy business with the Dark Lord took a lot of good Aurors from us," Tonks said sadly. "We need reinforcements if anything."

"And teachers?" 

"You don't know what Hogwarts is like, do you?" Tonks snorted. "It took one hell of a curse, let me tell you. The repairs alone will probably stretch out until late September, early October. But I'll bet that Albus will try to have them all done for September. I think he's enchanted more than he can handle this time. All the magic in the world won't get that place back together properly in time. And let's not count the number of students that must be in the infirmary still."

"An excellent point."

Tonks gave a smug nod. "I'll bet almost all the parents of kids due to start at Hogwarts in September will be looking for alternative forms of education. Tutors, smaller private schools that managed to survive, probably home schooling even."

"Resulting in a decreased attendance record for the school; perhaps that is just what the old man wants."

"What makes you say that?"

"Who knows how his senile old mind works." Lucius said dryly.

Tonks shrugged. "Well, if that is what he planned, then it certainly would be easier to get the repairs done while holding some form of classes. Unless he has –"

"Ah, nice to see you up and alert."

Lucius looked over at the sound Idun's voice to see her standing by the door, a sheaf of parchment in her hand. "Wonderful; Kali herself has come to collect my head."

"I haven't been that bad," Idun tsked as she walked towards the bed. "How are you feeling today?"

"Like his usual self; prickly and arrogant." Tonks said cheerfully.

If there was just one drawback to Tonks, that was it; the cheerfulness that was like a ghost that came back to haunt you. Lucius crossed his arms and gave Idun a hard look.

"And what are you going to poke and prod me with today? It's bound to be something hard and unnecessarily cold?"

"I had no idea you felt that way," Idun said with a gleeful smirk. "I'm only using my wand."

Tonks let out a bark of laughter before she clapped her hands over her mouth and looked sheepish. But small bursts of giggles trickled out and she finally left the seat to go to the other side of the room and attempt to laugh in relative peace and quiet. Lucius scowled at her before he turned his attention back to Idun.

"And to what do I owe this pleasure?" he asked, curling a lip.

"To your speedy recovery and sheer brilliance of myself and Healer Hansberry or this visit?"

"Have you heard of hubris before?" Lucius mused.

Idun's face went bright red at that. "Fine, your point is taken. Must you ruin all my fun?"

"As you confined me to the wretched bed even though all my bones have unfused, yes, I must."

Idun gave a wry smirk as she sat down in Tonks' vacated chair and started leafing through the parchment. "Well, I've got a complete progress report here and everything looks great. You have a full range of mobility again, plus your spinal nerves, bones and discs are perfectly fine. However, I would prefer to have you here for an extra week or two for an observational period."

That was simply pitiless. It was like unclamping the manacles from someone and saying to run free before changing your mind and clamping them right back on in the space of one breath.

"I can tell you're not pleased with it, but Healer Hansberry and I do agree on this. Your treatment was experimental at best and we'd like to make absolutely sure that there are no adverse side effects whatsoever. We do have your health in mind."

"You need me to agree to this, don't you?" he asked after a moment, eyes narrowing slightly.

"As you are in perfect condition at the moment, yes we do." Idun said.

"I'll agree to it, but on one condition."

"What is it?"

"You actually allow me to get out of the bed and walk around. If I have to spend one more day just sitting here, I will be leaving, am I understood?"

"Understood perfectly Mr. Malfoy," Idun said a bit hesitantly. "Are you sure that –"

"Quite sure." He said.

"All right," Idun sighed. "If you'll just sign here stating you agree to the observational period."

Lucius took the form and looked over it. "It doesn't clearly state the duration of the observation period."

"Yes, because Healer Hansberry and I are still undecided on that. He wants two weeks and I want one."

"Make it one and I'll sign it," Lucius said after a moment, handing back the parchment to her. At least by that time, he would be out just around the start of August.

Idun groaned, taking it. "Damn it, you just had to complicate things for me, didn't you?"

"I do try." Lucius said with a sanctimonious smirk.

* * *

Two more weeks in his room taught him a few more things. One was that he absolutely hated being here in St. Mungo's; Bruce had convinced Idun that two weeks were necessary and then they ganged up on him and kept him here for two weeks rather then the one. Two was that the pine-scent of antiseptic was rather nauseating after prolonged continuous exposure to it for almost three months straight, twenty four hours a day. Three was that he didn't dislike Okolo; he simply despised her. Loathe, abhor, detest, the words were all too weak and the feeling was mutual. They both were looking forward to his last day here. For some odd reason, Okolo seemed to break out into a smile whenever she looked at him and Lucius had a feeling it was not simply because of him leaving. Four... four was that he was just sick and tired of it all. He just wanted it done and over with. He wanted an uncomplicated life again. Above all he wanted Harry.

He had been allowed to walk around during the two weeks, but Idun had insisted on him actually taking a cane with him. That alone was insulting enough but when he did leave his room and went for a walk, all he got was stony stares from the other patients in the ward. He'd managed to go for ten days straight before opting out of leaving the room. Okolo had tried to tease him about that but Tonks quickly put an end to it.

In all honesty, Lucius couldn't be bothered much with what everybody else thought of him. He just wanted to go home and be left in relative peace and quiet. He wanted to go riding on his grounds in the afternoon. He wanted to eat a dinner that didn't involve someone scrutinising him for various reasons or simply him eating alone. But at the same time, he wasn't all that sure what he wanted any more.

At the moment, he was sitting on the edge of his bed, wearing the same clothes he had been brought in with. Black slacks, a white button down shirt and his Italian shoes, waiting for Idun to come back; only they were mended and his cloak and pin were missing. Tonks came wandering over and plunked herself down on the bed beside him.

"Any questions?" she asked after a moment. "I think I explained every thing clearly enough."

"You did," Lucius said, recalling the brief conversation from before. "You escort me back to the manor, of which, and the grounds, I am not allowed to leave during the trial unless I have the express permission of the judge presiding over my trial. The only person allowed on the premises is my lawyer, and so forth."

Tonks nodded her head. "Bet you're glad to be getting out of here, huh?"

Lucius simply shrugged, not saying anything. He had wanted to get out of here true, but now... that depended entirely on how you looked at it.

"Oh, come on say something. I'm starting to think you might actually be just as human as the rest of us underneath it all. That won't do you know."

"Just shut up with your drivel," Lucius snorted.

"There, much better." Tonks chuckled. "Now where are Healers Sargad and Hansberry?"

"Coming," Okolo called from the door.

Lucius looked back when the door was pushed open and Idun walked in followed by Bruce's stocky figure. He rose easily from his seat, hands making their way to his pockets as he regarded them. Idun was holding what he could guess to be his cloak, laundered and folded neatly with the knotwork brooch on top.

"Well?" he asked.

"Everything is perfectly fine." Bruce beamed. "You are the picture of your usual self."

"How fortunate for me," Lucius mused.

"Well, here's your cloak," Idun said as she held out his cloak. "I was on the way to another patient's room, so I figured I'd stop by and drop it off."

Lucius took it with a nod of his head, settling it around his shoulders and fastening the silver clasp. Idun smiled at him before she waved in farewell and slipped from the room. Lucius looked at Tonks.

"Am I to assume my wand is now in Ministry custody?"

"Er, how about we get you back to your manor first, hm?" Tonks said with a slightly nervous tone in her voice.

"Yes, let's." he said in a voice that he was not pleased at receiving an evasive answer.

Lucius gave Okolo a long look before he snorted. Okolo went to the door and held it open while giving a mocking bow. Tonks walked out first and he followed, barely paying any attention to Okolo as he walked out with Bruce, who had been waiting just outside the door, falling in step right beside him.

"If you feel the least bit peculiar –"

"I'll send you an owl." Lucius finished for him.

Bruce nodded his head. "I mean it; don't go thinking you're invincible, like last time."

Lucius wasn't apt to forget the first time he nearly had a meltdown. That was the first and only time. He simply nodded his head. Bruce looked at him anxiously.

"Are you sure you're all right? Normally you'd have some nasty comment."

"Surprise," Lucius said simply. "Isn't it almost ironic how life changes people, hm?"

Bruce stopped walking, looking absolutely shocked. Lucius looked back at him with a slight smirk before they turned a corner and his Healer disappeared from sight. The rest of the trip was in complete silence. When they arrived in the main hall of St. Mungo's he found himself facing a sight that he, by all rights and of all people, should have been prepared for. The lobby was crammed full of reporters and cameras going off in his face. He remained silent in the face of all the questions flung at him and when Tonks had started to push a path towards the Floo fireplace he almost said thank you. Almost, since he literally had to bite his tongue to stop it from uttering the words.

"Here. You know what to say." She said, thrusting a bag of Floo powder at him.

Lucius took a handful and stepped quickly into the fireplace. A few moments later he was stepping out into the main foyer of his manor, dusting the Floo powder from his shoulders. It was still the same as last time barring the fact that Percy Weasley stood right in the middle with Shacklebolt by his side.

"There you two are." Shacklebolt's deep voice echoed slightly in the foyer as Tonks and then Okolo came from the fireplace.

"You think it was easy getting here?!" Tonks flared. "I think every single reporter in Britain was waiting for him! It was insane!"

"Quite." Okolo said.

Lucius simply rolled his eyes at Okolo's comment. "I already know the terms of my... parole."

"There are a few new details that Tonks didn't know about."

"And they would be?"

"Almost all your house elves are gone. The judge ordered them to be removed from the house. So all but the most stubborn twenty are gone."

"Shall I assume Bwink was one of the stubborn?"

"The most stubborn actually," Percy said with a small snort. "In light of that fact, Tonks shall be making weekly visits every Monday evening to escort you to Diagon Alley for anything essential you may need as the house elves are bound to remain in the house at all costs."

"You couldn't find anyone else?"

"No one else wanted to do it. And judging from Okolo reported, you seemed most affable with her. You are to report to your trial every day, barring an illness that has been certified by your personal Healer or a St. Mungo's healer. As there is no Floo powder in your house, your lawyer has agreed to come and pick you up before trial and drop you off afterwards. Should you need to send a letter to anyone, clear it with your lawyer first and make sure that it has Tonks' approval and stamp. Failure to do so could result in you facing more charges. I doubt you want contempt for the Ministry tacked onto your undoubtedly long list of charges."

Lucius snorted. "Is that all?"

"The last thing is the question of your wand," Percy began slowly. "It was assumed that it had been placed in safekeeping as Fudge was still in power at the time of your arrival in St. Mungo's. However later on, it was discovered that was not the case..."

"And?" Lucius asked, crossing his arms.

"I'm the found who it actually, in the locked drawer of the desk in Fudge's former office. This was all I could find of it. Merlin knows what happened to the rest of it."

Lucius watched as Percy held out a fragment of what had been an alder wand with a core of chimaera scales. He could actually see bits of the scales, gleaming forlornly in the light.

"You can keep it if you wish..." Percy offered.

He took it, looking at it for a long moment and not saying anything. Percy cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Since that's everything, we'll be taking our leave now. Tonks will be here next week as your kitchen has been stocked and you have everything you could need in terms of basic necessities."

Lucius didn't bother to turn around as they hurried for the Floor fireplace and disappeared in gout of flame. Yes, he was so very sick and tired of it all.


	22. Chapter 21

A/N: My bad all. I noticed a small error in Interlude. The date read May 9th, 1997. It should be 1998. I've made the changes where I could and will be making the change when I get back to my own comp with my website files. Sorry about that. Replys to reviews will be next chapter.

_**Come the Maëlstrom**_

_Chapter 21_

The light hurt his eyes when he woke up. It was as if they still weren't used to seeing anything. His head swam a bit as well, like it had trouble simply remaining together. It was like this every time he woke up. Most of the times it went away; rarely it stayed and made him fall asleep to deal with it. Other days he felt weird, as if he wasn't completely himself. Like there was some part of him that didn't belong, that was out of sync with him.

He blinked a bit more, before reaching over and sliding his glasses on. It seemed that he was going to have a relatively easy day today. Closing his eyes, he gave a heavy sigh and simply lay there. He had been stuck in the infirmary for a little over two months now with nothing to do and it had become very tedious at times; it was only recently – meaning the last three weeks – that Madame Pomfrey allowed him to do any of the assignments; and that was only the very short ones that wouldn't disturb him too much. The large essays were out of the question. But he still wasn't allowed the read the newspaper and was strictly confined to the bed. And when he did see Snape, the man was either in a very bad mood – that didn't warrant any sort of questioning – or simply gave him the work and left, as if he was avoiding him. Ron and Hermione managed to visit him at least once a week and it did cheer him up but it also made him feel a touch more irritable since he had to sit there and watched as they left afterwards. He couldn't wait to get out here.

He opened his eyes once more and jumped. Draco's face was inches from his, his grey eyes intent. "Cripes!" he shoved Draco away. "Nice way to wake up someone."

It had been a long while since he's actually seen Draco. The pale boy looked a chalky sort of white, as if he'd lost a lot of blood. Harry looked down to see he still had some bone spikes protruding through his skin but they were much shorter now and had been rounded out so he wouldn't accidentally stab someone. Not that they could with such blunted tips.

"This is the first time I've seen you up, prat. I'm usually asleep when you're up and when I'm up, you're fast asleep, moaning and groaning about something."

"Didn't know you wanted some company that much, Malfoy." Harry smirked as he sat up.

Draco snorted. "Don't be ludicrous. I'm just glad that bastard didn't kill you. That leaves the spot wide open for me, since you snuffed him."

Harry chuckled as he rubbed at his temple. His head was getting little aches of pain today. But compared to the horrendous migraines he had before, this was absolutely nothing. "You wouldn't happen to have a newspaper, would you?"

"You know," Draco said conversationally. "I've been expressly forbidden from giving you any thing that contains news..."

"Which means you have a newspaper."

Harry watched as Draco pushed aside the curtain and reached under his pillow. "Here's the paper from this morning. Read it quickly. Pomfrey had to make a run to somewhere."

Harry gave him a grin and unfolded the paper. What greeted him was a picture of Lucius, who was clearly attempting to avoid having his picture taken. He kept slipping past the edge of the picture but was jostled back in by the crowd of limbs holding cameras at the fringes of the frame.

"Lucius Malfoy leaves St. Mungo's. Expected to attend trial tomorrow," Harry read off the cover, nothing the date was July 31st.

"There's a media gag on that trial so you won't find anything about it. Most of the other trials are finished; you can read about them inside."

Harry stared at Draco, amazed at his nonchalant tone. "He's..." Harry trailed off remembering who he was talking to. "He's your father! Aren't you even the least bit worried?"

Draco shrugged as he lay down on his bed. "Why would I be?"

"You don't care?"

"No, I just know exactly how it's going to end. So what's the point in worrying?"

"But still..." Harry trailed off, looking back at the cover to find a look of irritation flash across Lucius' face.

Harry felt himself a bit confused. Lucius was always in control. Since when had he allowed anything to show so blatantly on his face? It was so uncharacteristically Lucius.

"Potter! Give me back the newspaper!"

Harry looked up at Draco startled to find him holding out his hand. "What? No! I'm not done reading it."

"Hell, Pomfrey's coming back! Give it to me!"

"What does it matter? I'll hide it under my pillow!"

"She'll check under your pillow!" Draco hissed. "Give it back!"

"I said no! I want to read it!" Harry tightened his grip on the newspaper.

"Bloody hell!" Draco hurried over to Harry's bed and attempted to grab the newspaper. "Give it back!"

"No!" Harry exclaimed, moving it from Draco's reach.

Draco growled and clambered on the bed. "Just give me the damned paper!!"

"I told you no!" Harry retorted, attempting to squirm out from under the blankets and keep the newspaper.

Draco lunged for him and Harry kept his grip on the newspaper as Draco righted himself on the soft bed surface and attempted to wrest it from him. They were both snarling things at one another and were going at it tooth and nail when Madame Pomfrey snapped the curtains back.

"Mr. Potter! Mr. Malfoy!" she ground out in a tight voice.

Both of them looked up immediately, red-faced and still grasping at bits of the newspaper.

"What is the meaning of this?" she demanded with a murderous expression on her face.

Both Harry and Draco sat up, pulling on the newspaper, and attempted to hide it behind their backs. What happened was that it ripped right in half and each of them had a half behind their backs. Their faces turned even redder. Madame Pomfrey sighed heavily.

"I can't deal with it... this is it! I try to keep a semblance of order and you two seem hellbent on undermining me! I never should have allowed you to have a newspaper Mr. Malfoy or allow you both to do schoolwork. Let Professor Snape deal with you both! I've had enough."

Harry and Draco glanced at one another. Sure they'd been arguing practically since Harry woke up, but they hadn't thought it was that bad. And it did distract them for what would have been mind-crushing numbness.

"Well, we're bored!" Harry said defensively. "You only let him read the newspaper and you don't even let me do much of anything beyond sitting here! Can't we at least do something?"

"No, you may not Harry! You severely depleted yourself magically and physically in the battle. You need time to heal up from that. I allowed school work because Professor Snape didn't wish for you, the both of you, to fall too far behind in your studies and I do agree with him on that point."

"I think a few weeks of doing nothing helped that," Harry mumbled sarcastically. "I'm behind enough as it is already. You won't let me do anything major, like those essays."

Madame Pomfrey gave a disgusted sigh. "Fine, ask Professor Snape for some more assignments when he comes to check up on you both! If you wear yourselves out, it's your own fault."

And with that Madame Pomfrey snapped the curtain back shut and her steps could be heard. Harry brought out his torn half of the newspaper and gave Draco a sheepish look.

"Sorry." He offered it.

Draco snatched it back. "You should be."

"I'm pretty sure I can fix it."

"With what wand?" Draco asked in a supremely peeved tone.

"With..." Harry trailed off realising Draco was right; all this time and he hadn't even once thought about his wand. Well, he was either worried about assignments or the throbbing pain in his head. And the throbbing pain made it difficult to think of much of anything else aside from any possible form of relief. "What happened to my wand?!"

"No one's told you?"

"Obviously not, or I wouldn't be asking!" Harry said in a slightly panicked voice as he started looking around his bed. "Where is it?" he patted through his blankets and looked under his pillow before sticking his hand inside the pillowcase and then looking in.

"Sheesh, calm down, and I'll tell you," Draco said hastily. "You look like you want to wet your pants."

"Funny," Harry said sarcastically.

"Well, what Blaise told me is that when they found us, they couldn't exactly find your wand."

"What do you mean they couldn't exactly find it?"

"They found a few pieces of it, just like they found pieces of the Dark Lord's wand. Apparently the cores were completely burnt out. All that remained was just the wood; well, what wasn't incinerated somehow."

"My... My wand is –"

"Done."

Harry didn't say anything as he contemplated this new information. He supposed it made sense in a way. Ollivander had told him that his wand and the Dark Lord's wand had cores from the same phoenix. Hell, Harry even knew that phoenix. And he knew of the theory of cancellation; when two wands with the same core from the same animal met, there was a negating sort of effect. But his wand had exploded? It seemed so incomprehensible that it had to be a lie and yet, at the same time, it felt like someone had just brutally amputated his arm off.

"Hey!" Draco leaned over and whapped him on the shoulder with the torn newspaper. "Snap out of it!"

"I have no wand." Harry said slowly in a soft voice.

"Which is why you go to Ollivanders and get a new one," Draco said with a roll of his eyes as he got back into his bed. "Honestly, do you ever use your brain? I realise it was your wand and all, but these things happen."

Harry opened his mouth to speak but a frustrated sigh came instead. His wand was gone. What was he supposed to do about his N.E.W.Ts now? It was probably going to be a long while before Madame Pomfrey would allow him from bed, much less to go wand shopping in Diagon Alley. He ran a hand through his hair before sinking back to rest his head on the pillow. The very concept that his wand no longer existed seemed so... alien that he was having a hard time wrapping his mind around it. He was so busy contemplating this that he never noticed when the curtains were drawn aside and Dumbledore stepped in.

"Harry?"

He started, seeing a long white beard. "Oh. Headmaster." He sat up shaking his head slightly to clear it. "Professor Snape." He said as he noticed the other man there was well. And, for once, he wasn't angry or looked like he wanted to bolt.

"I'll check up on you after I'm done with Mr. Malfoy."

Harry nodded and turned his attention back to Dumbledore. Dumbledore smiled and settled down in a chair, pulling out a bag of lemon sherbets, looking around momentarily.

"Would you care for some?" he asked as he proffered the bag.

"Sure," Harry reached in and took a few.

Dumbledore popped one in his mouth himself. "So, how have you been Harry?"

"Bored silly," Harry said before he sucked on a candy. "I can't read a newspaper, I've only got a minimal amount of homework to do and I'm stuck in bed all the time."

"Understandable," Dumbledore chuckled. "Madame Pomfrey is taking no chances with your health. Now, I understand you used to have headaches."

"Well, of course." Harry said after he swallowed the candy; he'd formulated his own theory about that awhile ago. Having a lot of free time to lie in bed gave one plenty of time to philosophise about things.

"It sounds as if you've thought about it already." Dumbledore said after a moment

"I have," Harry said with a shrug. "The way I see it, Voldemort was linked to my mind and vice versa. Occlumency didn't get rid of that link; it simply put a door on it. So when I killed Voldemort, I broke the connection; broke but didn't remove it completely. Destroying his soul destroyed whatever may have lingered about him and that connection. I suppose it's like ripping something away abruptly. It's bound to hurt for awhile until you get used to it."

"Like ripping off a Band-Aid?"

"That'll do." Harry said after a moment.

"That is about the same conclusion that I drew as well," Dumbledore didn't say anything for a moment. "The mind is a very curious thing. It reacts in certain ways under certain assumptions. That is what saved Valencia from Voldemort's Legilimancy."

Harry arched an eyebrow in question as he ate the last two lemon sherbets.

"Legilimancy has one key implicit flaw to it. The subject must be under the impression that they have no form of protection and cannot do anything to protect themselves."

"But Valencia didn't know of any way to protect herself; so how could she know that she, well, theoretically, couldn't do anything to protect herself?"

"True, she had no form of protection; but it was her sheer persistence in not wanting to yield any information to Voldemort that acted as protection in and of itself. It formed a powerful shield that not even he could break."

"So... she basically slammed the door in his face without even realising it."

"That's another way to put it." Dumbledore chuckled. "Another lemon sherbet?"

"Thanks," Harry said taking a few more.

"Now, I wanted to talk to you about your cla– "

"Headmaster."

They both looked up to find Madame Pomfrey looking extraordinarily peeved at him. Dumbledore attempted to hide the bag of candy but failed miserably.

"Alas, it seems someone else disapproves of my lemon sherbets." He said mournfully tucking the bag back into his pocket.

"Quite right," Madame Pomfrey sniffed. "The infirmary is no place for candy."

"That depends on your point of view," Harry mumbled. "Were you going to say something else Headmaster?"

"It can wait until Severus is done with Mr. Potter's physical examination." Madame Pomfrey said briskly. "Or even another day."

"I'll try to come and see you when I have a free moment again." Dumbledore said as he rose slowly from the chair. "Now really Poppy, what's so wrong about lemon sherbets?"

"Aside from the disgusting amount of sugar they have in them, everything else," Madame Pomfrey said as she held the curtain back for Dumbledore. "Given how frequently you eat those things, I'm surprised you still have teeth."

Harry couldn't help but chuckle as Madame Pomfrey let the curtain fall back; he could still hear her lecturing Dumbledore as to the many evils of lemony candy. He sucked slowly on the candy, trying to kill time. He knew he was going to have another conversation with Dumbledore and sooner was better rather than later. From the other side of the curtain, he could the sounds of someone doing something very physical before soft murmurs came. When Snape finally appeared, he had sucked the last lemon sherbet into a tiny, tiny ball.

"Out of bed, now." Snape said curtly.

Harry swallowed the bit of candy and slipped out of bed, standing beside it stretching slightly. "Are you going to be poking and prodding at me for long?"

"Hopefully not," Snape said as he scrutinised Harry. "Now, you will do exactly as I tell you, understood?"

"Yup."

"Good. Now, I want you to run on the spot for as long as you can."

Harry's eyebrows shot up in surprise but he complied, running on one spot of cold floor in bare feet. He could see Snape glancing between him and his watch. The minutes seemed to drag on forever but he wasn't exactly tired.

"All right, you can stop." Snape said finally. "You've been doing that for the past fifteen minutes."

"That's nice to know," Harry managed in a barely winded voice.

"Yes, now stand up perfectly straight and stand with your feet shoulder width apart and arms out."

Harry did just that and was subjected to Snape poking and prodding at various muscles and crooks of his body. He didn't even know he was ticklish until Snape prodded at a spot just under his jaw at his neck.

"Hey!" Harry giggled as he drew away.

"Potter," Snape sighed in exasperation. "Get back here and assume the position."

Harry looked at Snape for a moment, before he burst out laughing even more. He could hear audible snickers coming from the other side of the curtain as well. It took him a good ten minutes before he stopped laughing and was able to stand back up in order for Snape to finish off examining him.

"Well," Snape said finally, indicating that Harry could sit back down. "You are disgustingly healthy, just as I thought you would be."

"Good; then you can tell Madame Pomfrey that I should be allowed to do something more in terms of assignments? And perhaps actually walking rather than being bound to bed like an invalid? Possibly have a few more visitors? And maybe take a trip to Diagon Alley to get a new wand?"

"New wand..." Snape looked at him. "How did you know?"

"Honestly Sir, don't you think it'd be odder if I hadn't known?"

"Touché," Snape admitted. "There's always some obnoxiously loud chatter mouth in the school."

Harry bit his tongue to stop himself from snickering at the slightly offended sound that came from the other side of the curtain.

"I'll see about bringing you some more assignments to work on. You may be prohibited from using magic, but there's no reason for you to allow the marginal amount of brains you've developed to rot away. As for the new wand, that will require a trip to Diagon Alley and, as such, will require the Headmaster's approval."

"All right Sir."

"Now if you will excuse me, I have other matters that require my attention." Snape said, turning to leave.

"Can't they wait?" Harry asked a moment later.

Snape didn't say anything for a long moment, turning back slowly to look at Harry. "And why should I take the time out of my disgustingly busy schedule to bother with you now?"

"I think you know why Sir..." Harry said. "Dumbledore obviously won't tell me certain things."

The seconds ticked on by before Snape drew his wand and cast a quick Silencing ward around Harry's bed. Snape sat down gingerly on the edge while Harry sat back down and crossed his legs before pulling the blanket up.

"Well?"

"What is Dumbledore really not telling me Sir?"

"Where would you like for me to start? I've had multiple conversations with that man and nothing good came of them."

Harry's eyes widened. "Just how much has he been keeping from me?"

"Plenty," Snape finally said after a moment. "Your initial suspicions were correct."

"He did know of a way..." Harry shook his head with a supremely disgusted tone. "I'll bet he thought there was still a risk of Voldemort poking around in my mind, didn't he?" he snorted when Snape nodded his head. "What a lame reason."

An affirming grunt came from Snape's throat. "Have you been able to obtain a newspaper?"

"Yeah, but I didn't' get to read much beyond the front cover." Harry said with a wistful expression. Snape shook his head, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"Then I see that –"

"Severus!"

Both Harry and Snape looked over to find Madame Pomfrey with a displeased glower on her face. It was a peculiar expression that had him worried as well as Snape, judging from the peculiar expression on the sallow man's face. She had taken down the Silencing ward and was slowly advancing on them both.

"While, I am glad to see you have buried your animosity," she said in a low and controlled voice. "I am not pleased with the fact that you are keeping a patient from his rest and are obviously neglecting a class that you should be teaching at this very moment."

Harry could have sworn Snape paled a bit more and muttered something along the lines of, 'She's finally cracked... too much fucking pressure.' He coughed to cover up his sudden snicker, drawing Madame Pomfrey's attention to him.

"And you should be resting Mr. Potter. You certainly don't want to have a relapse do you?"

"No ma'am." Harry managed in a straight voice as Snape rose from his seat and dusted off his robes.

"We'll continue the discussion at some other point." Snape said brusquely.

"Of course Sir," Harry said.

He watched as Snape walked away, his robes swirling impressively. Madame Pomfrey tutted as she plumped his pillows once more. He leaned back against them while Madame Pomfrey gave him the admonition of not doing too much work or stretching himself too thin. Harry simply nodded his head in silent agreement. Of course, Snape didn't know it yet but some other point was going to be by the end of the week if Harry had anything to do about it.

* * *

The hallway was cool as his slippered feet stood on the stone floor. There was a brisk breeze that was moving through the hallway and Harry shivered slightly and wrapped the blanket tighter around himself. He was standing on the landing, looking at the flights of stairs. One lead downwards to Snape and what would inevitably be a long discussion. The other led upwards to Ernesto and Valencia and what would undoubtedly be a very relieved welcoming. He stood there for a few minutes before the breeze picked up again.

"Up I go..." he muttered as he started up the flight of stairs.

His steps were muffled as he moved up slowly and made his way to the portrait of Bucephalus; or rather where the portrait of Bucephalus _had_ been. A torn frame greeted him, the interior hallway visible in the moonlight. His brow furrowed as he peered in, seeing slivers of faint moonlight.

"Harry?"

He looked over suddenly to see Bucephalus in the frame beside his previous one, mounted on his familiar black horse. "Oh, Bucephalus. What happened here?"

"Something called a swarm of Death Eaters and their allies," Bucephalus said dryly. "But not to worry; Ernesto and Valencia were moved somewhere else before the battle. The Death Eaters found nothing when they got in."

"Where are they now?" Harry asked, stepping closer. 

"Don't know. Dumbledore is the only one who knows that," Bucephalus said with a shrug. "And he certainly didn't volunteer than information to me. Only one other person as far as I can gather."

"One other person?"

"Yes; the person who will be involved in their Fidelus charm."

Harry didn't say anything for a long moment. "I beg your pardon?"

"Doesn't anyone tell you anything?" Bucephalus snorted. "Even the portraits have heard the rumours."

"Considering how closeted I'm kept me in the infirmary, it's a miracle that I managed to sneak out."

"So you've heard nothing?"

"No. Madame Pomfrey even put a spell on Draco so he doesn't tell me anything disturbing or unsettling. It's somewhat annoying to hear him yip every time he almost lets something slip."

"Hm," Bucephalus frowned. "Rumour is that they will be sent back soon, right after the Fidelus charm has been performed. That way, no lingering Death Eaters can find them."

"How very convenient for Dumbledore..." Harry said in a tight voice. "Anything else?"

"That's pretty much it." Bucephalus said before pausing for a long moment. "You know Harry; I can try some more to find out just where there are, if you wish, that is?"

"It would be nice, since I owe them so much," Harry said evenly.

"A-All right." Bucephalus said, nudging his horse with his heels. "I'll see what I can dig up."

And with that Bucephalus stormed from the portrait. Harry watched it for a moment longer before walking down the stairs and making his way into the dungeons. He came to Snape's classroom door and pushed it open slightly. The office door was cracked open and there was firelight coming from it. He walked up and knocked on the door lightly. The scraping sound of a chair came and Snape opened the door, looking down at him in surprise.

"Do you have any idea of what time it is Potter?" he asked a moment later.

"So why aren't you asleep?" Harry said softly.

Snape sighed and motioned for him to come in. "You've chosen a most inopportune time. I'm marking a set of Hufflepuff essays."

"Some how, I doubt that it's inconvenient," Harry said, glancing over to see a pile of red marked papers. "Even you have to get tired of marking nonsense like that."

"Should I ask how long it is until Madame Pomfrey goes storming through the castle to find you?" Snape asked after a moment, sitting back down at his desk.

"Not for a good while, I hope," Harry didn't say anything for a moment sitting down in the chair by the desk. "You don't seem all that surprised to see me here."

"I'm not likely to forget your aptitude for rule breaking."

Harry snorted. "How long have you known Ernesto and Valencia were moved from the chambers on the third floor?"

Snape didn't say anything for a moment. "Since they were moved. Albus seems to think it prudent to make me their Secret keeper," He curled his lip. "I want no such part in that."

"Am I the only one," Harry began after a moment. "Who finds it a bit disturbing that the two people who have a clear objective view of Dumbledore's actions over the past few weeks have been hidden away by him in some place that even I don't know and probably every one on staff does?"

Nothing was said for a long moment, only the sound of the fire crackling in the heart. When Snape finally moved again it was to lay down his quill and regard Harry with a rather solemn gaze.

"I do believe you raise a very valid point," he finally said. "But you are wrong on one point. You assume that the staff knows their location."

"So only Dumbledore knows; wonderful. Is he going to deign to let me see them once more before he packs them off?" Harry asked in a bitter snarl. "Or is he just going to make yet another decision for me? What's one more anyways?"

A few things on Snape's shelves started rattling ominously with Harry's words and continued on for a few minutes.

"I suggest you calm down. I have 14 Galleon crystal bottles that are quite hard to replace."

Harry simply nodded, taking slow deep breaths. The rattling stopped but a beak or vial would give a weak twitch every so often. Snape rose from his seat, making his way over to a cabinet, pulling out a decanter and a small tumbler. Harry watched as he reached for a second glass.

"Would you like something to drink?"

"Are you offering a student alcohol, Sir?" Harry asked, arching an eyebrow.

"I'm offering an idiotic wandering patient something medicinal to calm his nerves." Snape retorted. "Pick something."

"Beer." Harry replied immediately; it wasn't all that bad once you got over the slight bitterness.

"Figures a Potter would have such common taste," Snape grumbled. "I don't have beer."

"I've only had beer before, so I'll leave that decision up to you."

Snape looked at him before he regarded his shelves and turned back to his task at hand. Harry stared into the fire, loosening his blanket slightly. When a tumbler with a small amount of amber liquid was placed in front of him he wrapped his fingers loosely around it and lowered it to his nose to sniff delicately.

"That seems a bit strong." He said after a moment.

"You seem very high strung." Snape replied as he sat back down in his seat. "You're on your way to becoming a semi-decent wizard; you might as well refine you palate in the process."

"What is it?" Harry asked.

"Brandy."

"What do you have?"

"Whiskey; when one teaches idiots for so long, one requires something much stronger to calm their nerves."

A momentary chuckle came from Harry before he took a small sip. "Hm..."

Silence reigned for a moment as they both focused on the alcohol in their hands. After a few moments, Harry looked up at Snape.

"So just what has Dumbledore been doing regarding my well being?" he asked in a dry voice.

"Which questionable issue would you like for me to raise first?"

"The worst. At least everything else will look better in comparison and I'll know exactly what to do from that point."

"Such a Slytherin approach Potter..."

Harry simply slid Snape a semi-amused look before he contemplated the remaining amber liquid. "Well, what's the worst?"

"Compared to everything else..." Snape didn't say anything for a moment. "The fact that you will have to return the Dursleys once you've finished here at Hogwarts."

He had not been prepared for that and his hands tightened reflexively. The glass shattered in his grip immediately, sprinkling his lap with shards, brandy and small drops of blood. He hissed as the alcohol seeped its way into the many small cuts on his hand, swearing under his breath.

"You took that much better than I thought," Snape murmured as he placed his tumbler aside and vanished the spill with his wand. "I thought I would need to place an order for new bottles with Potare's."

"You have got to be fucking kidding me," Harry spat in a venomous voice. "I'm going to graduate, finally get to become my own legal guardian and Dumbledore wants to pull this bullshit?!"

The crystal bottles started dancing around one another and across the shelf, while the few small cabinets around the room it started shifting about weakly.

"Control, Potter!" Snape barked as he approached Harry. "I don't need my office trashed in a fit of your rage. True it is justified, but I am not about to sort through the mess once your outburst has spent itself."

"That man has some fucking nerve..." Harry ground out in between deep breaths as Snape walked forward and healed his hands.

"I wouldn't put it so crudely, but yes, he does," Snape said as he returned to his seat. "Obviously you have issues with your... guardians."

"Obviously," Harry said curling his lip. "What was your first bloody indication?"

Snape frowned at him as he walked back to the cabinet and fixed Harry another drink. Once it was placed in his hands, Harry simply rested it on the floor by his foot. He didn't want to inadvertently break another one of Snape's glasses.

"While I do not agree with his decision in this case, you certainly can't stay here once you've graduated. Albus is even considering transferring the students in the infirmary to St. Mungo's so repairs may begin sooner."

"Then I suppose I have something to look forward to; getting out of here... right?" he looked at Snape, seeing the stony gaze there. "Right?" he repeated again.

Snape shook his head. Harry gave a disgusted sigh and threw his hands up.

"He's not letting me go to St. Mungo's," he echoed in a tight voice. "I don't believe him. What's his reasoning behind that?"

"The few Death Eaters who are still at large, namely the Lestranges, Pettigrew, Notts and Narcissa Malfoy."

Harry swore under his breath. "Let me see if I get this straight... Dumbledore is willing to ship everyone else off to St. Mungo's but me because he thinks I might be attacked in some crazy Death Eater suicide mission?" Harry shook his head in disbelief. "He's willing to risk everyone else but treats me like I'm fucking breakable... unbelievable."

"Whatever happened to your brain, it certainly made it much more perceptive."

"This is what happens when you have two solid months when you can't talk and all you can do is listen and think..."

"You could hear?"

"Yes; everything uttered close to me," Harry ran a hand through his hair. "What else is there?"

Snape didn't say anything for a long moment. "Undoubtedly you know of Mr. Malfoy's trial has been proceeding since May."

"Since May?" Harry raised both his eyebrows.

Snape nodded his head. "While Albus has not forbidden us from testifying on Lucius' behalf," he paused as Harry made some snide disparaging comments. "He has made it clear that he frowns on such actions; if we do such, we will not have his support."

Harry blinked and stared at Snape for a moment before he shook his head, bending it forward, shoulders shaking. Snape leaned forward after a few moments.

"And just what is the matter now?"

"Oh, that's rich!" Harry crowed, lifting his head up and wiping away the tears of laughter. "He doesn't' want us to testify so he threatens by saying that he won't support us! Oh my God..." he broke down laughing once more.

"I'm failing to see the humour in this situation." Snape said dryly.

It took Harry a few minutes to calm down to be able to talk properly. "Come on Professor. If I decided to stroll into that courtroom and testify on Mr. Malfoy's behalf, there isn't a single thing that Dumbledore could do about it. His threat is nothing but empty."

Snape snorted after a moment. "The Boy-Who-Lived testifies on behalf of Death Eater... no one would exactly buy it."

"If anything, I carry much more clout than Dumbledore at the moment," Harry said as he picked up his tumbler and took a sip. "I killed Volde- er, the Dark Lord. I can vouch for anyone and it will certainly make people think twice."

"Is this your subtle manner of telling me you plan to sneak out of the school?" Snape snorted with slight derision. "For this express purpose?"

"Of course not," Harry said with a smirk. "I'm still recuperating after all. But I do need a new wand. That is crucial... and I'll bet the courtroom where the trial is will be close to Diagon Alley. People do get bored during shopping and wander off..."

"Whoever has to take you will be watching like a hawk."

"That doesn't matter," Harry said a bit dismissively. "Dumbledore will more than likely pick the person the same day; less risk that way. I don't know who and they don't know until they have to take me; no information can leak out so readily. And I'll bet Diagon Alley will be doing some brisk business, more so that usual. It'll be quite easy to lose track of someone in that crowd; especially after they've gotten a wand."

"You're playing with fire Potter," Snape said in a low tone. "Your magic is still in its volatile stage."

"But a new wand will fit my magic as it is now, so the risk would be considerably less," Harry didn't say anything for a moment. "Besides, we do owe Mr. Malfoy a debt of sorts; if he didn't find that potion, things may have turned out very differently. I'm not going to have him call it in some other way."

"Wiser words have never been spoken," Snape snorted.

Harry made a small noise of agreement and sipped at his brandy. "Anything else?"

"There is one other thing I wished to discuss but I do believe we've pushed out luck enough for tonight, don't you?" Snape murmured.

"True," Harry quickly gulped the rest of his brandy, wincing slightly at the way it burned as it went down. "I'll pop by for another talk sometime soon. It wouldn't exactly do to have you talking to a Gryffindor in the infirmary in such a manner, huh?"

Harry could have smirked at the expression on Snape's face as he rose and settled his blanket on his shoulders. He settled for a slight smile as he made his way to the office door.

"On a side note, Potter, just how much did you hear?"

Harry didn't say anything for a long moment. "I know what happened down here between you and Hermione before Mr. Nihilare showed up. I may have been comatose, but Hermione did come to talk to me when she could,"

There came a stifled curse from Snape.

"It's just a thought, but maybe you, for once in your life, should throw the rules aside. If you didn't feel anything for her, you certainly wouldn't have been snogging her on your desk that day,"

"Thank you for the illuminating advice Potter," Snape said a bit caustically.

"Who said I was done?" Harry asked in mock surprise. "You're a teacher; she's a student, blah, blah, blah. I say stick the two know-it-alls together and let them be happy. Merlin knows we've all suffered enough, especially you Sir. Besides, that little act she put on that day with the lawyer, she didn't mean it really. She was trying to see if she could rile you up,"

Snape remained silent this time. Harry took that as a cue to continue.

"Just make sure you whisk her off her feet properly once she graduates, all right? Oh, and if she asks, I would rather that this conversation never happened."

"Potter," Snape finally said after a long moment. "Only an idiot like yourself could get himself sorted into the wrong house."

That was as close to a direct compliment and a joke that he was ever going to get from Snape. Harry chuckled as he glanced back at the man. "Then maybe I should be glad that I didn't want someone who I thought was a greasy evil git as my head of house."

Harry was treated to the rarest sight of all at that statement. Snape, sitting at his desk, with complete shock written all over his face. He gave a smile, inclined his head slightly in farewell and closed the door.


	23. Chapter 22

_**Come the Maëlstrom**_

_Chapter 22_

Severus was doing something he had never done before in his life. He knew it was high time that he did something like this, something just for himself. But he never had the time to do so really. In between the demands of being a teacher and a double spy for the Order in Voldemort's ranks, his social life had essentially vanished away; not that he really wanted one anyhow. But with all but the teaching out of the way, and England short of one megalomaniac Dark Lord, he would be free.

Severus Snape, world renowned Potions Master, magna cum laude graduate of Avalon Academia and foremost expert on the Wolfsbane Potion was looking through travel brochures, contemplating a vacation.

And, for the first time in almost twenty years, he was looking forward to it. Not travelling to cut underhanded deals for Voldemort or hush-hush ones for the Order. He would be travelling simply for travel's sake. Find a nice exotic place, where he could simply relax and not have to worry about some horde of teenagers, or of what others thought of him or whispered about behind his back.

And he'd already spoken to Albus regarding that; he'd wanted a year's leave. The old man had been surprised but had enthusiastically agreed to allow Severus his much needed vacation but he did hope that he would consider being the Secret keeper and possibly teach for one more year before his vacation. It had only taken a moment's thought and he agreed. What did it matter? It wasn't as if he wanted to visit the blasted Muggles any how. He'd just make sure to inform Harry and go along on his merry way. And once he suffered one more year he was done for a continuous unbroken twelve months.

The bright glossy photos were vibrant with colours and smiling waving people, information crammed in on as much available space as possible. It was certainly much easier reading than those essays he had to deal with two weeks ago. And with the N.E.W.T examination period approaching, it seemed that some students were throwing themselves into a frenzy.

He sighed and collected up the pamphlets, tucking them away in an upper desk drawer. He would have more time to look over them during the examination period when he didn't have to teach and no one could disturb him with questions. A glance at the clock showed him that he had to go and present some final notes to class. After that, there was a study period of a week and then the examiners came down from the Ministry.

The fact that the Ministry could even send down a good amount of examiners was impressive and proved that Percy was fulfilling his role as temporary Minister. Severus had started to read the Daily Prophet once again; it was no longer a Ministry mouth piece. Percy certainly wasn't about to tolerate having some newspaper feeding more lies to the wizarding populace; especially the same paper that published the propaganda that almost crippled the wizarding world, to boot. The Prophet had published some scathing reviews of Percy's endeavours in the beginning. But once those 'dubious measures' started paying off the reviews became much more favourable, almost as if the Prophet was attempting to cull favour in the Ministry once more. The economy was steadily recovering from the fiscal chokehold Fudge had placed on it, incompetence was being rooted out of the Ministry at an alarming rate and job openings were cropping up everywhere in almost every imaginable sector, regardless of race or blood.

The general sense of freedom was pervasive everywhere. And there was one question still floating around with a burning intensity: what happened to their hero, Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived-To-Defeat-the-Dark Lord and was he even still alive?

Severus knew exactly what would happen if Harry went to testify at that trial. And he had a sinking feeling that he would be the one to escort Harry to Diagon Alley to get his wand. He just seemed to be having that kind of luck lately.

He glanced up at the clock once more before rising from his seat and making his way into the classroom. The students were already seated the quietly, quills and inkpots out with nibs hovering over parchment. He closed the door and surveyed the class.

"This is your last lecture before your optional N.E.W.T examination," he said as he made his way to his desk at the front. "Many of you have taught yourselves how to brew some fairly difficult and complex potions with successful results. The simple fact that you brewed them without killing anyone is testament enough to your skills. I strongly encourage all of you to take the N.E.W.T level examination; after events such as the ones we just endured, you will certainly pass with an Outstanding. To simply take the grade of Acceptable in light of your true skills would be nothing short of a disgrace and a waste of talent."

The class was silent, but he could see a few students glancing at one another and grinning slightly.

"Today I will be going over the potions that you will most likely receiving during the N.E.W.T test and be discussing the finer points briefly. This class undoubtedly will not be long enough to cover them all so I advise you to read about the respective potions in your textbooks, understood?"

"Yes, Sir." The class chimed.

He nodded his head and immediately launched into his lecture. The quiet was only broken by the sound of nibs scratching again and the occasional question from students; but not from Hermione. She sat in the back of the classroom, head bent, and quill working; not once did she look up. Severus felt a sudden and sharp pang of... something. He rather missed that brazen boldness that had her challenging him every class...

"Er, Sir?"

He looked over sharply to find a student with his hand raised slightly. "Yes?"

"Aren't you going to finish telling us how the powdered unicorn horn reacts with the sea bjist's spleen and how to avoid that?"

Severus nodded his head curtly, shifting his gaze from Hermione. "It is quite a gradual reaction. Should you nip it in the early stages there will be nothing to worry about. However, some other potions require you to allow this to occur..." he began once more.

Somehow, he managed to finish off the rest of the class with stopping inadvertently. How he wasn't sure, since he didn't even notice that he did it the first time. When the class was finished he dismissed them gathering up his sheaf of notes. When he looked back up the room was empty. With a frown, he made his way into his office and closing the door. Thank Merlin that class was done for good. That last half seemed nothing but hellish with her there. How was he supposed to concentrate when she was sitting there like –

A knock on the door made him look up with a scowl. Couldn't he be left alone to even angst for a bit in peace and quiet? His scowl deepened a touch more as he went to the door and opened it. Hermione was standing there, a slightly distant expression on her face, schoolbag shouldered. The patch over one eye was gone, but the brown colour wasn't the same; one was the deep chocolate brown and the other was a golden sort of colour. It gave her a somewhat fey look and the circles under her eyes were gone but there was something of a haunted look in them.

"If I may Professor?" she asked politely. "I won't be taking much of your precious alone time."

Severus opened the door, already feeling an itch to rile her up, get under her skin; anything to rid that unflattering expression of neutrality on her face.

"If you wish Miss Granger," he said opening the door for her.

Her brow furrowed for a moment as she watched him but she walked in anyway. He closed the door, standing in front of it and watching her a bit curiously. He was about to speak but she beat him to it.

"I know you're busy so, I just came here to tell you that I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" Severus looked at her in surprise, arching an eyebrow. This had to be the first time a woman ever apologised to him in what he supposed was a sincere manner. "For?"

"That day," Hermione adjusted the strap of her bag. "We were both out of line but Merlin forbid that you should swallow your massive ego, be a man and apologise first. So, I figured I would do it."

Both of Snape's eyebrows went up at that. "Typical; you assume that you're the noble one here."

Hermione's cheeks flushed a bit at that. "And just what are you implying Sir?"

"You suddenly developed a nasty habit of appearing directly at the start of class and vanishing right at the end," he regarded her for a moment. "Just how am I supposed to request a meeting with you if I cannot find you."

Her face turned a deeper shade of red. "That is your problem Sir. You could have left a note with my head of House."

"I think not. I'd have no grounds for wishing to see you in an academic matter, not with such an exemplary academic record and no desire to study Potions after graduation. Merlin knows you could have made it a touch easier for me and done an assignment wrong."

"Then what did you wish to see me for?" Hermione asked; her face was still bright red but she kept his gaze.

"To apologise." He said with the barest of smirks coming to his lips.

Hermione's lips tightened as she scrutinised him. "Ha ha, funny; I, unlike you, actually meant it; so I've apologised. If you don't mind, I'll be leaving now." A frustrated expression came to her face as she realised he was still standing in front of the door.

"And what makes you think I had anything less than sincere apologies?" Snape asked archly, crossing his arms. "Did you even bother to ask? Another snap judgement one your part?"

"You standing there smirking told me more than enough," Hermione said quietly. "Just why do you seem to enjoy making students so miserable? Particularly me."

"Another assumption Miss Granger?" Severus tsked. "Perhaps you've noticed that I teach the upper classes much differently than the lower ones."

Hermione opened her mouth before she snapped it shut only to reply a second later. "Yes. But that's obviously because the students in the upper classes want to be there; they enjoy potions and are good at it."

"And that creates the fundamental difference Miss Granger. Why waste my time on first years who certainly don't want to be there and think they can dump whatever they want into a cauldron? The real learning doesn't begin until after O.W.L year."

"That's still no excuse to be nasty."

"I'm not a nice person by nature," Severus said simply, leaning against the door. "And, in case you haven't noticed, most first years come swaggering in here as if they own the place. Someone has to show them otherwise," he leaned off the door and walked towards her until there was little less than a foot of space between them. "And this is what you want; someone who is much more suited for a solitary life than companionship?"

Hermione's eyes widened in surprise; clearly, she hadn't been expecting that. "I... Um... That is to say... Er..."

"Tell me, Hermione," he said placing a delicate emphasis on her name. "Why exactly did you force your way into my office that day?"

Her face went a brilliant shade of red and she started tapping her fingers a bit impatiently. "I told you already."

"I'd much rather hear rational words rather that professions fuelled by," his eyes flickered over her. "Hormones."

She took a deep breath as if steadying herself. "I told you that I liked you. What exactly is hard to believe about that?"

"Everything," he snorted cynically.

"Don't be ludicrous," Hermione scoffed. "Your problem is that you fail to realise your own sex appeal. And before you even attempt to say something cutting, you obviously haven't seen some of the students looking at you."

"Me?" he gave a short harsh bark of laugh.

Hermione didn't say anything for a moment before she crossed her arms with a smile of her own. "Yes, obviously they must be masochists."

"As you also must be, since you're here actively pursuing this."

"See, that's the difference between me and everyone else out there," Hermione said as she started closing the gap between them. "I know precisely what I want. I don't want some teenage boy barely on the cusp of adulthood. I don't want to suffer their fumbling. I... want an older man, someone much more experienced, someone skilled... if that involves some pain..." she trailed off.

Now, to perfectly honest, Severus had plenty of experience with women. But most women he knew have never attempted this blatant shy type of... seduction? He didn't know what it was exactly. But it suddenly seemed a touch too hot in his normally cool office and Hermione was far too close to him. He didn't quite trust his own vocal chords at the moment, so he glared down fiercely at Hermione and was a bit dismayed to find that it wasn't very effective; she was still continuing her slow and deliberate approach.

"Now you tell me something Severus," she said softly. "Since we're both managing to have a civil discussion, why did you kiss me? Surely you would have known better than to do something like that with a student."

Severus contemplating opening his mouth to answer but his throat seemed to clam up, stubbornly refusing to produce words.

"If you wanted me gone that day, you would have kicked me out. The fact that you didn't simply proves the fact."

"And what fact would that be?" he asked in a scathing tone; sure, his throat decided to work when it wanted to be nasty.

It was when Hermione gave a slow smile that something very curious happened to Severus; his heart started pumping away wildly while the rest of him went shock still. It was if he anticipating and dreading what the next words from Hermione's mouth. He'd never been so out of control so voluntarily in his life.

"Beneath every single nasty thing you do in an attempt to push me away, you want me here with you," Hermione raised her eyebrows slightly. "And that's the reason why you've either been ignoring me when you could before, and why you were in a foul mood at the same time. I'll bet seeing my flounce out of here with Mr. Nihilare got your blood boiling, didn't it Severus?"

He narrowed his eyes at her, a scowl coming to his lips. So the bloody girl did want to rile him up. She succeeded far too well. Hermione was watching him intently as she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, licking her lips. His eyes slipped down for a moment to watch her tongue dart out.

"See?" her voice was a touch triumphant. "Despite everything you'd like others to think of you, you're still human and subject to the same emotions like the rest of us. You want me Severus Snape."

He continued to glare at her, feeling the door bump against his back. He looked back to find the door right behind him. Since when had he even been backing away from her? This was not good; she more than likely had designs upon him in some manner. Not that he minded much, but... yes he did mind! She was still a student! Until she graduated, she was strictly –

"You want my intelligence," Hermione said softly until their robes were brushing. "You want my stubbornness... all the reasons you won't admit to yourself. You know them Severus. I'll bet you're running through them right now in an effort to justify exactly why you shouldn't be bothered with me; especially as I'm still a student who's on the very verge of graduating."

"Hermione," he said a bit more hoarsely than he intended.

"But those are all the reasons why you want me. Why you're, more than likely, finding it very hard to resist me. I'm probably one of the very few people whom you ever connected with, isn't that right Severus?" she crossed her arms and smirked. "It's the only reason why you would have bothered with an insufferable Gryffindor, isn't it?"

Severus wasn't too sure how long he remained there, completely still and staring down at her. But after what seemed like a long moment, he shifted, raising his hands to her shoulders.

"This is precisely why I don't like to get involved with Gryffindors. They're too bloody stubborn and don't take no for an answer," he said heavily after a moment as he watched her intently.

Hermione gave an ecstatic squeal of delight and attempted to hug him; attempted, since he flexed his arm muscles and effectively stilled her motion. It was curious to see her upper body jerk to a halt while her legs continued to move. She looked at him in puzzlement.

"But I refuse to engage in this... liaison in Hogwarts. You will be graduating soon. It can surely wait until then."

Hermione chewed a bit apprehensively on her lower lip. Severus groaned and closed his eyes. It seemed to remind him of just how young she was; and just how much he wanted to see those lips doing other things.

"Are you sure that's what you want?" she asked a moment later. "To wait until I graduate?"

"Positive; I would like to keep my job as I have managed to secure a year off and would still like to attempt to gain the DADA position."

"A year off? You're done after this?"

"If only Albus would be so kind," Snape said, curling his lip. "From the fall of 1999 until the end of summer in 2000, I shall be free from brats of any sort."

"Well, I managed to secure an apprenticeship in Gringotts, pending a review and interview. Arithmantic forecaster."

"Impressive," Severus replied; it truly was. Gringotts didn't hire just anyone. Simply managing to secure an interview with the goblins was murderous.

"Thanks," Hermione grinned. "If that doesn't pan out, I'm considering either a position in Spell Development in the Ministry or teaching Muggle Studies. So perhaps we'll be able to work around your sabbatical leave."

We; the word sounded odd in concept since was referring to him and her but it was pleasing to hear. Very pleasing in all actuality.

"I'm quite sure we will," Severus said as he pushed her back a bit to free himself. "Now, I have to meet Albus concerning some matter, so I shall have to send you along. I'm already late as it is."

"I'll go," Hermione gave him a mischievous smile. "But I want something first."

A slightly irritated sigh came from his throat. "What is it now?"

"I want a kiss."

"You can't wait for what will undoubtedly be three or four weeks to end?"

"No. I'm a reckless, brash, impatient Gryffindor, remember?" she looked at him. "So just give me a kiss and you can be on your merry way."

"Fine," Severus closed the small gap between them and gave her a cursory peck on the lips. "There."

"Stingy man," Hermione tsked. "I know you can kiss better than that."

"Fine!" he said, throwing up his hands.

And with that Severus bent in and kissed her with the same gentle touch of the lips. Hermione's eyes fluttered shut and she gave a soft sort of sigh, her hands moving to his shoulders. He stepped in a bit closer, not breaking the kiss as his hands slid down her arms and sides gently before resting on her waist. A quiet mewl came from Hermione's throat as she pressed herself closer to him, sliding slightly against him and kissing him a bit harder.

Severus groaned as he responded, tongue delving into her mouth and pressing himself closer to her. Hermione seemed to be enjoying herself immensely as her fingers stole their way up to his head and tangled in his hair, her body continuing to move against his. He groaned and kissed her a bit more heatedly for a few more moments before he broke off abruptly, face flushed and breathing heavily.

Hermione's pupils were dilated and her eyes heavy lidded with blatant lust. Her hair and robes were a bit mussed up and just seeing those pink swollen lips made him want to kiss her yet again. She would be the death of him yet.

"Mu-Much better." Hermione managed in a slightly rough voice before she cleared her throat. "I'll let you get going now."

He watched as she slid from his arms and hurried from the room, a smile on her face. After a few moments, he left his office as well, hurrying up the stairs to Albus' office and fighting the urge to smirk. It didn't take him long to reach the familiar gargoyle or walk up the steps. But he did pause outside the door, hastily adjusting the wrinkles in his robe and fixing his hair. Albus would more than likely pick up on such obvious things and start wondering. That would undoubtedly lead to him finding out.

Once he felt satisfactorily presentable, he simply opened the door. Valencia and Ernesto sat there in the seats in front of the desk. Ernesto was glancing at Albus every so often with a very displeased look on his face while Valencia was petting Fawkes, who had decided to rest on her lap, on the head. The phoenix and woman seemed to be the only comfortable occupants in the room.

"Ah, Severus!" Albus rose from his seat and looked genuinely pleased and relieved to see him. "I was starting to wonder just where you disappeared to."

"Well, I'm here now." He managed a sour tone.

"Quite right," Albus beamed. "Let's get started, shall we?"

* * *

Harry had seriously lost track of all the work he had been doing for the past while. But he had managed to finish off almost all of his essays. And he only had his Transfiguration left to finish. After that, he was, hopefully, going to get a new wand and then take his N.E.W.Ts and graduate.

But there was no way in hell that he would be going back to the Dursleys. He'd started receiving a copy of the Daily Prophet as well. Once he finished reading over the news, he started poring through the classified. But he didn't tell anyone what he was doing. If no one knew where he was, then it was even better for him. When he left Hogwarts, he planned to leave for good and stay as far away from Dumbledore as possible.

"Ergh," he grunted as he looked down at what had to be his fifth foot of parchment. "I only have to write a little bit more and then I can finish this brute off."

"Do you normally talk to yourself when you work?"

"Yes. So kindly leave me be." Harry grinned at Draco. "Besides what are you worried about? You don't have to play catch up."

"Says you," Draco snorted. "I happen to like peace and quiet when I work."

And with that, Draco snapped his curtain shut and Harry heard a brief mumble from the other side before everything went quiet. Harry chuckled and went back to his essay. He did like the quiet as well, but Draco made the most infuriating noises when he worked. So all Harry needed to do was say a few well chosen words and he gained his quiet.

The infirmary was great as a work spot, especially if you were allowed to have work. A comfortable bed, a pillow for your back and it was a simple matter of stiffening parchment in order to write on it. He hadn't been able to get the hang of it at first. But after a few tries, he'd managed to make the parchment stiffen in a few places with a wave of his hand. It didn't tire him out much and by the time a week had passed, he was an expert at it. But that was about all he did. He didn't want to push his luck any more than that; Madame Pomfrey wasn't beyond suspending his work and possibly binding him to the bed if it meant he didn't cause a relapse.

He looked down at his essay before he put it aside and waved his hand over it, causing the paper to relax and bend slightly. Closing the books, he stacked them neatly on the chair beside his bed and stood up stretching. He wasn't supposed to be doing this either but just lying in bed couldn't possibly be helpful to healing. He had just laced his fingers together and was stretching his arms in front of him when the curtain was whipped back.

All he got to see as he looked up was a blur and a flash of red before he was wrapped up in a very familiar hug.

"Oh Harry dear! We've been worried sick!" Mrs. Weasley cried. "Not a single word of how you've been and then Dumbledore says you've been here recuperating the entire time."

Harry attempted to reach up and fix his jarred glasses but Mrs. Weasley seemed to have him in a constrictor hug. Every move he made caused her to squeeze tighter. After a few moments he gave up and went kind of limp. She drew back immediately, looking at him.

"Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, I just wanted you to –" 

"You shouldn't be out of bed in your condition," Mrs. Weasley tutted. "Back in you go."

Before Harry could even protest, Mrs. Weasley had him lying back in bed, with his pillows fluffed and tucked in firmly.

"Really," Harry began as he loosened the blankets. "I'm all right. I was just working on my essay when I decided to stretch a bit."

"Should you be working? You should be focusing on getting better. There'll be time for your studies later on Harry dear." Mrs. Weasley sighed. "The others want to see you but I really don't know. You look a bit peaky and you –" 

"Really?" Harry asked. "That wouldn't be so –"

Before Harry could finish his sentence or Mrs. Weasley could cut him off, the infirmary doors burst open and a moment later, Harry found himself swamped by the entire Weasley clan, hugs and a massive assault of words that seemed to come from everywhere.

"I knew you didn't die! I just knew it! We have to go to Fortescue's and –"

"Good to see you up and about mate. 'Mione's been a right beast lately what with –"

"I've got some interesting things from Egypt if you want to –"

"Was murder getting time off from work! There was a Ridgeback clutching and –"

"You old Crup! You –"

"Didn't tell us you knew our lawyer. He's –"

"Been going on about how you told off Umbridge! Said –"

"It was nothing short of brilliant!"

"He told of Umbridge?!" that was the only bit that everyone said together and that wasn't directed at him.

"Quite well. And –"

"Apparently in some –"

"Very graphic detail. Beastly –"

"Toad probably deserved every –"

"Word of it. Didn't she Ha –"

"_Enough_!"

Mrs. Weasely's roar brought all the noise grinding to a halt while every single Weasley child quavered. The Weasley matriarch was standing there, breathing hard with a dangerous expression on her face. What made it even worse was that Madame Pomfrey was right beside her with a similar look.

"I quite agree," Madame Pomfrey said with a frown. "But... I'll allow this visit so long as you don't rile up Harry and allow him to rest when he wishes."

Mrs. Weasley took a deep breath as Madame Pomfrey left. "I don't know how you knew you could come in! If I find an Extendable Ear on any one of you –"

"Don't blame us Mum! It –"

"Was Ickle Ronnikins idea! He's –"

"Been learning to read lips –"

"With that eye of –"

"His. Dead useful."

Ron seemed to shrink into a tiny ball as Mrs. Weasley puffed up.

"Ronald Bilius Weasley, do we need to have another talk about that eye of yours?"

"No Mum." Ron whimpered.

"Good," Mrs. Weasley focused her attention back to Harry. "Now then –"

"Where's Mr. Weasley?" Harry asked immediately, not wanting Mrs. Weasley's attention focused solely on him. He knew she cared for him, but he honestly wasn't some little child that needed babying.

"He's working over time dear. Still some fallout from the Death Eater attacks on London," Mrs. Weasley said in a placating voice. "Now why don't you?"

- Harry? -

"Oh for Merlin's sake! Just what... do... "

Mrs. Weasley whirled around, her words drying up as she found herself facing a woman about her own age. Harry's brow furrowed as he craned his head to look over and through the Weasleys. When the group shuffled aside, Harry found himself looking at Ernesto and Valencia. He blinked in surprise but got of bed, walking over to them. Mrs. Weasley made a sound of protest but Ron quickly shushed her, mumbling something about the Muggles looking after Harry while he was gone from England.

- We were hoping you'd be better before we left. - Valencia smiled a bit. - You look great in fact. her smile started to disappear. -

- Left? - Harry echoed a bit apprehensively.

Ernesto nodded. - Dumbledore says we cab go back now. Says that the Death Eaters won't find us. -

- He performed the Fidelus charm? - if Snape wasn't the secret keeper, he'd be hard pressed to find out who it was.

- Just now. That bat of a man was made the keeper or something like that. -

Harry gave a relieved sound. - So you aren't going to be... he tapped his head. You know? -

- No, - Valencia said. - We didn't want to forget you or him this time around. - she gave a sad smile.

- Still think Dumbledore is the last thing that you need. - Ernesto said gruffly.

Harry looked between them. - Is he really sending you back now? -

- After we're done here, - Valencia said quietly. - What's his name... Snape, that's it. Snape is waiting outside the infirmary. Said he didn't want to intrude. - Harry saw her glance slide along all the Weasleys before coming to rest on him once more. - If we had known you had company already – -

- No, no, it's all right, - Harry said quickly. - Oh, before I forget... - he reached under his gown and pulled up the necklace that had once been placed in his hand. He'd moved it to his neck for safe keeping. - I think this cross is yours. - he took her hand and placed it in her palm.

- You keep it, - Valencia replied as she slipped it back into his hand and closed his fingers around it once more. - It's made of jet you know. Supposed to guard against malignant spirits, witches and such... -

Harry gave a sad laugh at that. - I think you need it more than I do at the moment. -

- Somehow I doubt that. - Ernesto snorted.

An awkward sort of silence descended before Valencia sighed heavily and leaned forward, kissing him on the forehead.

- Come and visit if you can. Don't be shy, - she flipped a lock of his hair. - And don't forget what I told you about your hair, hm. -

Harry nodded his head as Ernesto stepped up and pulled him into a bear hug for a moment and then chucked him under the chin.

- There might even be a new mattress for you. Old one's way too squeaky, you know. -

Harry shook his head, feeling his throat start to lump up. - Snape's gonna get cranky if you make him wait too long. -

- I think that man is always cranky. - Valencia mused.

Ernesto laughed, but it was clearly a reluctant one. - We'll see you later, all right Harry? -

- You bet. -

He watched as they both started walking away with small smiled on their faces. When they got to the door they paused and waved to him one last time. Harry was waving back slowly, his fingers clenching around the jet cross in his other hand. When the door shut, he let his arm drop back down to his side. There was nothing but pure silence from the Weasleys behind him and then came the sounds of Mrs. Weasley shooing everyone out. Harry had made his way over to the bed and sat down on the side, staring at the beaded cross piled in his hand. The bed sagged sharply as someone sat beside him. He looked up abruptly and found Mrs. Weasley sitting beside him.

"Is there anything you want to talk about Harry dear?" she asked.

"No, no, I'm fine," he said a bit heavily; he knew this day would be coming, he knew it from the day they had arrived here. But it still seemed rather tough to deal with.

"Come now, it's just us," Mrs. Weasley admonished. "There's no one here eavesdropping."

"Really Mrs. Weasley, I'm fine." Harry said as he slipped the cross back on. "I've got –"

"Harry dear you certainly don't look fine. Why don't you –"

"I said I'm fine!" he snapped.

The bed started to jump its away across the floor towards the curtain with a tremendous racket. Mrs. Weasley clutched the side as it continued to move, clearly not wanting to fall off. Harry took a few deep breaths and forced himself to calm down. The bed hopped its way back to its original spot and then lay perfectly still.

"Mrs. Weasley, I appreciate the concern and everything, but I'm fine. I don't need to talk about anything." Harry said in a quiet voice. "It was really nice of everyone to come down and see me but I really do have a lot of work to get done if I want to graduate with everyone else and be ready for the N.E.W.Ts."

"All right, I'll leave you to your work then." She said quietly.

She rose from the bed and quickly made her way out. Harry watched as the curtain settled back into place. He supposed he should have felt bad for snapping at her so, but she did have it coming in a way. He was not the little kid she still saw him as. She had to realise it some day. He sat back down on his bed, reaching into the night table and pulling out the Daily Prophet. Yet another blurb about Lucius' trial was plastered right on the front with a picture of a very unwilling Lucius. His mouth tightened into a grim line. There was still time to deal with that.

"But first things first..." he mumbled as he dug out the paper and started to look through the classifieds once more.


	24. Chapter 23

_**Come the Maëlstrom**_

_Chapter 23  
_  
It was the second week of August and Lucius was doing what he particularly loved to do in this month. He was currently outside, enjoying a slow canter on one of the many trails that wound through his property. Being back outside again was invigorating and he couldn't have chosen a better day for this.

True, the sun was just starting to rise and there was a thick blanket of fog on the ground but it didn't matter. The horse nickered lightly with a toss of its head. He looked around at the hazy path up ahead before he clucked to the horse and nudged it with his heels, tugging on the reins. The horse started to make its way back slowly, obviously not in a huge rush to go anywhere any time soon.

Lucius felt inclined to agree with the creature. If he had to spend another day cooped up inside the house only to leave it to have to go to court, he was liable to attempt killing someone in a very demeaning, Muggle fashion: with his bare hands. And that certainly would not look good splashed right on the front of the Daily Prophet.

But considering the manner in which they were publicising his trial, he would be lucky to set foot outside his house afterwards without being mauled by someone. There were always reporters crowded around the courtroom doors, attempting to get a picture of him. Simply walking in to take his seat at the defence table was murderous. And the prosecution was relentless, attempting to tear their evidence to shreds.

That particular tactic was working rather well as Lucius had no witnesses to testify on his behalf. But even as the prosecution tore down his defence, they revealed the ineptitude of the Ministry during the past few years and called its questionable practices into account. The prosecution seemed to gnash its teeth uselessly as Valerian had easily and methodically blasted massive holes in their strategy at key points.

There was no denying that he would be walking away a free man. It would be a miracle if he wasn't completely reviled and shunned from society as a whole.

"Not that matters much anyhow," he murmured to himself as he fingered the reins. "It would simply be done to my face now rather than behind my back…"

He was well aware of what people said about him when they thought he wouldn't find out. He had let it slide temporarily with the thought that he would extract a revenge of sorts one day. But with no means to do that now and no desire to, they would certainly be running off at the mouth.

The horse jerked suddenly, one of its front legs bending unnecessarily. Lucius dismounted and went to take a look. There was a large rock wedged right between the shoe and the hoof. Frowning, he reached for his wand, only to realise it wasn't there anymore. After a few moments, he looked around and found a stick, carefully prying the rock loose. The horse gave a soft snort and started sniffing around his head. He pushed the muzzle back gently and rose, bringing the reins forward.

"We'll get that looked after at the stables. Come on," he said as he started to walk slowly.

The walk back to the stables didn't take very long, and Lucius saw that the horse was settled into its stall before taking proper care of the horse's hoof. That alone had caused the groom to fly into a flurry of consternation. He was convinced that Lucius shouldn't even be bothering with it and was bemoaning the fact that it was only a matter of time before the horse squished him against the wall or crushed something with a single step. When Lucius had walked out of the stall uninjured, he left behind one very bemused groom.

"Hopefully, this will all be done and over with in September," he groused, walking into the house and making his way to the solarium. "I'm getting rather sick of being escorted around like a mongrel."

When he opened the door to the sunny room, he found that Bwink had laid out an impressive spread for breakfast. He also saw that there was another occupant at the table: Valerian, who was poring over some papers.

"I see you're back from your morning jaunt," Valerian said as he folded what turned out to be a dossier shut. "Enjoy yourself?"

"Until I found you here," Lucius replied easily, taking his seat and starting breakfast. "Proceedings are early today?"

"No; they still start at eleven," Valerian said as he turned to breakfast as well. "I was asked by Miss Tonks to see if you needed anything in Diagon Alley. Unfortunately she has a pressing matter with the Ministry and will be unable to make it this Monday for your weekly visit. She wanted me to pass along the message early."

"And she is asked you why?"

"No one else wanted to take it," Valerian said with a shrug as he helped himself to some bacon and toast. "You can be prickly but that's what simply makes you, you. If you acted any other way, it would be a travesty. Not to mention odd."

Lucius simply inclined his head. "So, shall I be paying you extra for this?"

"Heavens, no," Valerian smiled a bit wearily. "However, if you could find it in your charitable heart to dole out a much needed infusion to –"

"Them again?" Lucius rolled his eyes. "Why don't you have Charybdis simply ask me herself? She shouldn't send her brother as a messenger."

"She is protecting your anonymity," Valerian said after a moment. "You're a well-respected wizard and her werewolf advocacy group has had some unfortunate members in the past. They're a decent group that suffers from the occasional extremist member, but others don't see it like that."

"Ah," Lucius mused wryly. "She has no wish to endanger her main source of income for the group."

"That's another way to put it," Valerian conceded with a nod of his head. "But you're an only child; what could you possibly know of sibling relationships?"

"Enough to know that they are the perfect testing ground for power plays."

Valerian laughed. "That they are," he lapsed into silence a moment later. "You should know something."

"What? Lucius asked in a semi-resigned voice before he sipped at his tea.

"She has volunteered to testify for you. But only if you wish it."

Lucius arched an eyebrow. "A character witness I suppose?"

"If need be," Valerian said. "What do you say to that?"

"I say that she may do as she wishes,"

"You're not making this any easier you know. Considering the fact that we've had no witness for you, I'm doing a brilliant job. I'm the bloody lawyer version of Merlin himself!"

Lucius inclined his head in agreement. "I can't dispute you there. But if Charybdis wishes to testify, then it's her decision."

Valerian gave a disgusted sigh. "Since when did you become so noble and what not?"

"I think your question should be, just when I became so very tired of everything."

"All right then. When did you become a jaded crotchety old man?"

Lucius frowned. "There's no need to be vulgar."

"Anything to get your attention," Valerian snorted. "Really Lucius, this is a serious matter. Anything to tip the scales in your favour would be greatly appreciated. And make my job that much easier…"

"Stressed?"

"Just a bit. Could you tell?" Valerian replied with a wry sardonic smirk.

"Hm," Lucius finished his tea. "And I assume you have other things to take care of down at the courthouse?"

Valerian seemed momentarily startled by Lucius question. "Yes but –"

"Then why waste your time coming here when the trial doesn't start until eleven?"

"Well, I thought you'd like the company," Valerian said a touch peevishly. "Forgive me if I was wrong."

Lucius regarded the other man slowly, nothing the slight circles under his eyes. He shook his head, rising from his seat. "Follow me."

"What now?" Valerian demanded in a testy voice.

Lucius didn't say anything simply walking from the solarium. A disgusted sigh came from behind him as Valerian grabbed his files and followed. He made his way upstairs, finally coming to rest at a bedroom door. Valerian was looking at him in puzzlement.

"I will not have you becoming belligerent during today's proceedings. Get some rest. I'll make sure a house elf wakes you in time."

"Really Lucius, this is quite ridiculous –" Valerian began.

Lucius frowned. "Shut up, get in there and get some sleep. The last thing you'll need is that mind of yours working overtime from lack of sleep and your mouth speaking before you think. You'll be held in contempt within five minutes. Get. Some. Sleep."

"Fine!" Valerian said as he opened the door and stomped in. "Bloody mother hen…"

Lucius couldn't fight the amused sardonic grin that came to his face as he closed the door and made his way back down to the solarium for a nice leisurely breakfast. It seemed that Monday was going to prove very interesting.

* * *

"Are you quite sure you're up to this? I'm sure it can wait Harry." 

"Yes Headmaster, I'm positive."

"All right then," Albus looked between Severus and Remus. "And you'll both bring him back safely."

"Of course," Remus said with his usual affable smile.

Severus resisted the urge to roll his eyes. This was precisely the exact reason why he didn't like Mondays; the worst things happened to him on Mondays. First of all his Death Eater initiation had occurred on a Monday. Nearly getting killed when he decided to join Dumbledore and the Order, countless attempts on his life, Sirius Black slipping through his grasp along with the Order of Merlin… all on a Monday.

This Monday was even worse due to the simple fact that he knew Harry was planning to slip away and cause a definite amount of chaos. In other words, something he could have prevented but was very much loath to. But simply standing here, watching the Gryffindor's placid expression, he wouldn't have thought the boy was up to anything. For once in his generally miserable life, that was the understatement of the year.

"Then here's your Portkey," Albus said handing them an old fuzzy sock. Severus couldn't help but snort at the fact that Albus had a Portkey ready to go right on time for once. "It's set to bring you back around just before dinner. That should be plenty of time."

"A disgusting amount of time, I daresay." Severus ground out.

Harry's eyes flickered to him for a moment before he looked back at his fingernails as if they were interesting with a secretive sort of little smile. Severus thought it much better to focus on the sock and the whirling sensation of the world whipping past them; anything to alleviate the horribly sinking sensation in his gut with the knowledge of Harry's imminent act.

The Leaky Cauldron was just as dimly lit and crowded as usual. Both he and Remus hurried Harry along before anyone could really ask them questions. Harry was heavily disguised, true, but he was also the saviour of the Wizarding world. All it would take was one person to notice, or even think that they saw Harry Potter, before they'd have to find some way back to Hogwarts quickly in what would undoubtedly be a mad throng of crazed witches and wizards.

That was not a thought Severus relished.

Remus tapped on the brick with his wand and the wall opened up, allowing them into Diagon Alley. "All right, first stop is Gringotts and then Ollivander's."

"Yup," Harry said easily. "Maybe a robe shop or two. I could use some new stuff."

"Wand first." Severus grumbled, already pushing a way through the crowds.

Every time he glanced back, he found Harry closely behind him, and Remus sticking to him like a shadow. Good; between the two of them, nothing was going to happen to the boy today. Gringotts was horribly busy and it seemed to take forever before they were able to go to Harry's vault and withdrawn some Galleons. When they finally managed to reach Ollivanders, they found themselves facing a surprisingly empty shop. The dusty boxes still sat on shelves and the worn lamp sat on the counter by a register, quill, inkpot and slight pile of parchment. Severus could have sworn it looked exactly like this when he was here as a child, only marginally less dusty.

"So, any idea of what you might need?" Remus asked conversationally as he turned to Harry.

"None really; it's –"

"I recognize that voice."

The sound of a ladder sliding came and a moment later, Ollivander came to the end of the shelf on the ladder. Severus could have sworn that was exactly the same as well. Barring Ollivander himself, it was almost like the shop itself was frozen in time.

"And just what might I do for you today, Mr. Potter?" Ollivander's watery eyes flickered up. "Ah, Remus, Severus, how wonderful to see you again. Treating your wands well, I suppose?"

Remus produced his with a slight flick that had the lamp swirling merrily across the countertop.

"Eight inch ash and werewolf fur. A fine wand if I do say so myself."

Remus gave a feral yet childlike sort of grin. Severus snorted and he suddenly found the watery gaze on himself.

"Nine inch willow and rowan with quintaped claws," Ollivander seemed to grow a smug smile. "Such a difficult, difficult customer…"

"Wow, not much has changed." Harry muttered.

Severus looked at him sharply as Remus attempted to cover up his laugh with a cough. He was immensely glad when Ollivander turned his attention back to Harry.

"So, you need a new wand…" Ollivander mused, already wandering off down an aisle.

"Yes!" Harry called after him. "Maybe you two should wait outside," He said turning to look back at Severus and Remus. "Last time I was in here, things went flying around. It might be worse this time."

"I'm sure Severus and I can take our chances." Remus said.

Severus settled for a frown and crossing his arms a bit sulkily. He wasn't at all pleased to see an expression of amusement flicker on Harry's face. Blast it all. Just how he managed to get himself involved with two Gryffindors was beyond him but he'd make sure nothing of the sort ever happened again.

"All right, here we are," Ollivander said, carrying back a massive amount of boxes and placed them on the counter. "Just pick one and give it a swish."

Harry looked at the pile before he dug through them and pulled one out from the bottom. He grasped the pale wood in his hand and gave a gentle swish. All the boxes flew backwards, crashing into Mr. Ollivander and knocking him to his feet.

"Are you all right?" Harry asked, peering over the counter.

"I'm all right," Ollivander said in a flustered voice. "Quite used to that. Pick another one and see how it goes."

Severus watched as Harry picked up another one and nearly sent the lamp halfway through the wall. It wasn't so much that it created a hole, but that it was halfway phased through the wall itself. "Playing with fire…" he muttered just so Harry could hear.

Harry shot him a look that clearly said to shut up. Remus was busy attempting to extricate the lamp and Ollivander had scooped up the boxes and disappeared once more and reappeared with a new handful of boxes.

"Try these! They're much more powerful; more than one channel." Ollivander managed in breathless excitement as he plunked them down.

Severus watched as the corner of Harry's mouth tugged for a moment and he picked up a wand. This one appeared to be mahogany. When Harry gave it a flick it had the lamp jumping from Remus' hand to dance a mad jig across the tabletop. Harry seemed delighted but Ollivander yanked it from his hand, mumbling something to himself.

The pile of boxes started growing and growing, even though Ollivander was doing his best to clear them away. Both he and Remus had to duck outside into the hustle and bustle of the street in order to avoid having something smash into them frequently. Though there was a part of him that insisted that Harry was doing it for fun and nothing more. Once Remus had stuck his head in and was rewarded with the end of a box imprinting itself against his forehead as a reward. He could still see the bright red mark, clear as day.

It was only when the sounds of crashing halted from inside that Severus dared to stick his head around the door and look in.

"And just what haven't you killed Potter?" he asked caustically, surveying the damage done to the shop.

"A few rogue Death Eaters," he sniped back. "You guys can come in now."

Severus walked in slowly, Remus trailing warily behind him. That's exactly what the werewolf got for not using his senses when he should have been. Harry was standing at the front counter, stroking a piece of dark wood with a small smile while Ollivander practically seemed ready to burst his face from the broad grin there.

"Ebony wood, that one," Ollivander said eyeing it with pride. "Combined core of Chinese Fireball scales and kappa fingernails. Cleverness, stealth and a fierce will; not to mention a very nasty bite, nastier than most… how curious that you would require a wand with such exotic cores…"

Severus watched a Harry didn't say anything for a long moment. "What makes you say that?"

"A wand speaks what the owner doesn't wish to say," Ollivander had that same curious smirk on his face and, Severus had to admit, he too was a touch curious about Harry's decidedly Asian wand.

"Really?" Harry mused as he continued to look at his wand.

Ollivander didn't say anything but smiled as if he now contained some secret information about Harry. Severus snorted but looked impatiently at his watch.

"Really," Ollivander finally spoke. "You were as difficult as Severus here. More so I daresay. It's –"

"If that is all…" Severus said, cutting off Ollivander; undoubtedly there would be a comparison between him and Harry he didn't feel much like hearing.

"All right then," Ollivander said making his way to the register.

Severus watched as Harry chatted with the man as he paid for his wand. Remus, who had decided to keep conversation to a minimum, leaned in closer.

"Is it me or does Harry look a touch bothered by something?"

Severus simply flicked a look at Remus and continued to remain silent. Of course Harry looked bothered. Who voluntarily charged into a courtroom, obliterating all gained privacy, in order to testify for a man who was as dangerous as they come? Only someone with such a painful sense of honour and duty; but he really couldn't protest Harry's point. If they didn't do this, Lucius would undoubtedly call it in via some other manner.

But the curious thing was that Lucius didn't simply demand it from them yet. Surely he could use a few witnesses on his side. Blackmailing the Boy-Who-Lived to testify for you was nothing short of useful; unless Lucius was banking on the boy's sense of duty. That in itself was confusing, since Harry seemed so eager to testify for Lucius; he normally loathed Death Eaters and would try to have very little to do with them as possible. Come to think of it, it seemed like they –

"All right, I'm all done here," Harry said easily, standing in front of them. "Can we go to Madame Malkins? I could use some new robes."

"Not a problem. We have the whole day ahead of us," Remus said, gesturing to the door.

Harry gave that secretive grin again and walked out the door with Remus in tow. Severus felt his stomach gave another lurch, much more painful than the last and couldn't help but wonder just when an ulcer would come to visit him again.

* * *

He had to admit, being back in Diagon Alley felt great. And what was even better was that no one seemed to recognise him. Well, at the moment at least. It was exhilarating to go into stores and not be fawned over and swamped by others. But Harry noticed that Remus was starting to look a bit worried and fretted over him quietly. Snape looked downright uncomfortable as if he would have liked nothing more than to be back in his dungeons. 

In a way, Harry would have liked to vanish back to the infirmary and let the Wizarding world wonder just where he was. But that certainly wasn't the case. If anything, he would suffer it for awhile before leaving them to wonder again. He didn't know why the idea hadn't occurred to him earlier on. It was so simple and was just what he needed to get away from England and from Dumbledore as well.

He wouldn't have picked today to come down to Diagon Alley. It was Monday and he was getting back his essays as well as possibly meeting with Professor McGonagall in order to discuss possible N.E.W.Ts that he could and should probably try to take.

A gentle knock on the change room door made him look up suddenly. "Yes?"

"Almost done trying it on Harry?"

"Yup; I'll be out in a minute Remus," Harry said as he adjusted the horrid robes.

This was the third clothing shop they had come into and Harry now had a decent wardrobe and had disposed of Dudley's oversized hand-me-downs. It felt great to walk around in clothes he could call his own. Granted, it was just a pair of jeans, boots and a t-shirt, with the jet cross around his neck, but it felt like him. He pushed the door open and walked out into the hallway.

Snape was slouched in a seat, with a murderous expression. Apparently he hadn't signed on for a shopping trip of this magnitude as well or having his pockets stuffed full of Harry's shrunken things. Harry felt a bit sorry that he had to put Snape through this. But in a few minutes, the man would be running around, snarling and cursing his name.

"Well? What do you think?" he turned around, causing the robe to flare a bit.

"You look like a bloody pouf," Snape grunted.

Remus frowned. "I think it looks fine."

"No self-respecting wizard would be seen in that." Snape glared up at Remus. "It's nothing short of a travesty."

"Just because it's pinkish?"

"Not because it's pinkish; look at the cut of it."

Harry simply watched their exchange; he would never be caught dead in a robe like this. But it was serving its purpose of distracting Snape and Remus. He let it continue on for a few more minutes, the words flying thicker and faster before he interrupted.

"Um, I'll just go pick a new robe then." He muttered loud enough to hear.

Snape waved his hand irritably and Remus nodded his head absently. Perfect. He slipped out of the robe and left it on a hanger in the change room before slinking past them and heading out into the store. He had his wand in his pocket, as well as Galleons and the perfect disguise.

It wasn't hard to slip out through the front door and into the swirling press of people in the street. He only had ten, fifteen, minutes maximum before Snape and Remus noticed that he slipped away. Making his way down the street, he tried to piece together where Lucius' trial could be taking place. The Daily Prophet was very vague when it came to descriptions of the location, as per the media gag. But he was able to piece together some basic facts. The building was large; it was located around the northern Diagon Alley area and had no door. That last one he wasn't sure about, but he knew it would take some searching before he found what he was looking for.

He glanced at his watch, noting that the time was close to one. There had to be some security wizards working, which meant some of them had to take a break for lunch somewhere. A court house wasn't exactly the best place to find food. Well, at least that's what he hoped. He carefully made his way to restaurants, blending into the background as he ordered drinks and small snacks. It wasn't until he went to his eighth one that he finally hit pay dirt. He could only make out snatches of conversation through the crowd as he trailed behind the wizards.

"… bloody trial is a pain in the butt…"

"… and the arrogant git just…"

"Tell me about it. I've heard Mr. Nihilare…"

"You're … he actually found a willing…"

"… kinda hard to believe huh? Lucius…"

"… deserves is the Dementor's Kiss…"

"… if you can find a Dementor now…"

The conversation continued on like that, the wizards oblivious to Harry trailing behind them. When they turned a sharp corner, he hurried and found himself facing the smooth walls of a building. Brow furrowed, he did a quick round of the building only to find that there was indeed no wall. A scowl came to his face as he pressed a hand against the wall and started to walk along it. Maybe there was some sort of hidden switch that he had to press.

"Harry!"

He looked back to see Remus and Snape hurrying up to him. Damn. They found him sooner than he wanted. He turned to face them, hand still against the wall, ready to face the consequences. What he wasn't expecting was his hand to slip right through it, causing him to fall backwards and sprawl onto a polished marble floor.

"Oi!"

He scrambled to his feet as the two security wizards he saw before leapt to their feet, wands drawn. They approached him hesitantly unsure of just what he was doing here.

"And you are?" one of them, a rather plump one, demanded.

"Harry Potter." He said easily.

They looked at one another and laughed.

"Right," the other stocky wizard replied. "And I'm Merlin hisself."

Damn; Harry had forgotten about the glamour charm that veiled his true appearance.

"For Merlin's sake, Harry, just what did you think you were doing taking off like that!" Remus' relived and angry voice came now. "You know there's still Death Eaters on the loose out there!"

Harry glanced back to find Snape and Remus standing there behind him; Remus looked supremely angry and Snape looked massively pissed off. He looked back at the security wizards; it would be much easier to deal with them.

"I'm Harry Potter," he narrowed his eyes as the wizards laughed. "I'm sure Mr. Nihilare won't be pleased to know you're holding up proceedings like this."

The wizards stopped laughing almost immediately. They glanced at one another before the plump one took off and the stocky one kept his wand trained on them from a good safe distance. Remus however had much different plans. He grasped his shoulder and turned him around.

"Just what is the meaning of all this? Where are we?"

"A court house," Harry said easily.

Remus looked surprised while Snape looked ready to have a brain aneurysm.

"And just what was so important that you had to come to a court house?"

Harry gave an enigmatic little shrug. Remus gave a sigh that said he was clearly attempting to understand Harry's actions.

"If it was important, why didn't you simply ask? We could have cleared it with Dumbledore and –"

"Dumbledore has already made his position known on this issue." Harry said coldly.

Remus frowned for a moment. "All right. But it still wasn't safe for you to wander off like that. Who knows what could have happened."

"So," Harry said after a long moment. "You don't think I can look after myself."

"No, I didn't say that Harry."

"Then what is it? Because everybody sure acts that way. I'm good enough to kill Voldemort but in no way should I have to look after myself."

Remus frowned. "It's not a question of you being capable of looking after yourself. I know you are. Merlin knows you've proved it time and time again. It's more a question of the six Death Eaters still on the loose. One wizard against six desperate ones does not make for very good odds."

Harry snorted, not quite feeling willing enough to stick his foot in his mouth.

"This is where Lucius Malfoy is facing trial, isn't it?" Remus asked after a moment.

Harry simply nodded his head, feeling like a complete fool. Remus was always the sensible one; he should have known he could have asked him. Remus however seemed to understand. He patted Harry's shoulder.

"We all rush off to do stupid things from time to time," he said. "Just why do you feel that you should testify for him?"

"He helped us," Harry said simply. "He's the one partially responsible for making the Dark Lord weak enough for me to kill him. We owe him one. I'm not going to ignore that."

Remus nodded his head. Snape, who had been lingering off the side, finally spoke up.

"And you're prepared to go in there?"

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, looking at him.

"This trial has been going on for almost four months now. I have no doubt that the prosecution will look for any chance to rip Mr. Nihilare's witnesses to shreds. Even if one of them is the infamous Boy-Who-Lived."

"Oh," Harry said dumbly for a moment. "I'm still planning to go in there."

"How selfless…" Snape muttered.

Harry simply smirked. "What timing. Here comes the other wizard now."

The plump wizard was huffing and puffing his way up, with someone else in tow behind him. It was a tall woman with a head full of auburn ringlets and a rather imposing aura about her. It didn't help that they were frizzy slightly and the light coming through it looked like a bloody halo. She came to a halt in front of him and Harry was a bit surprised to find that Remus and the security wizards were the only short ones.

"You claim to be Harry Potter?" she asked brusquely, sizing him up critically.

Harry sighed, drew his wand and flicked it across his face. Almost immediately the woman's eyes went wide.

"That's because I am," he said a bit impatiently. "Anything else you want?"

"No," the woman said after a moment in the same brisk tone. "I'm Valerian's assistant on this case. You have no idea how grateful he is. Am I to take it that all there of you are here to testify?"

"Just –" Harry began.

"Us two." Snape finished

Both Harry and the woman turned to look at Snape who looked far from angry now; he had a mordant expression of glee on his face. Harry wasn't too sure what was up with that but it was honestly creeping him out.

"Very well them," the woman nodded her head. "Sir, if you would please, follow the security wizard he will escort you to the gallery for a seat. I'm afraid that you'll have to relinquish your wand at the check point upstairs."

"Not a problem." Remus said with a nod of his head. "Good luck you two."

Harry gave a small smile and nodded his head and watched as Remus started walking off before he looked back at the woman. "And you are?"

"Cassandra," she said with a small bow. "Cassandra MacDougal at your service. This is not the proper time however for a formal introduction. Valerian would like for you to testify immediately as the trial is drawing to a close and I will need to brief you so the prosecution won't appeal the judges and draw this out any longer than necessary."

"You mean it was going to finish today?" Harry asked incredulously.

"More than likely," Cassandra said, placing a hand on Harry's back and motioning down the hallway. "Come on, we have a steep order ahead of us."

Harry glanced over at Snape, who seemed to be regarded him in amusement. His black eyes seemed to say, 'You're the one who wanted to do this'. Harry snorted and followed Cassandra.

* * *

Lucius was bored out of his right mind, sitting there. So far, this trial day was far too long. And it was the only day that Valerian had called his witnesses to the stand. First had been Charybdis who had given a simple testimony that the cross examination couldn't dispute much. He was surprised when Severus Snape was called. He was even more surprised when the surly man rose from the gallery in the back and made his way up to the witness stand. The prosecution attempted to have a field day with him. Severus quickly shot them down in a blaze of humiliation and seemed to enjoy himself in the same process. It made for quite an amusing show. 

All the while, Valerian assistant, who seemed to practically live in the court house, scurried back and forth. The whispered murmurs were driving him nuts. Not to mention that supreme look of gloating that had come over Valerian's face when his composure cracked every so often.

Valerian had something up his sleeve. He didn't know what it was, but he wasn't all that sure he liked it. It was the kind of smile that foretold a nasty surprise.

"… you may step down."

Lucius looked up to find Severus walking away from the witness stand, a supremely pleased expression on his face.

"Does the defence wish to call another witness to the stand?"

"Just one more you Eminences," Valerian somehow managed to look calm. "I'd like to call Harry Potter to the stand."

The entire court room erupted into a flurry of words as witches and wizards started chattering away. Lucius gritted his teeth and attempted to sit perfectly still. So that's what had Valerian looking so smug. He glanced over to the prosecution's table and was rewarded with the look of extreme frustration from the prosecutor who looked like she wanted to strangle someone. The sound of gavels being slammed down sounded, causing silence to fall.

"Mr. Nihilare, you know very well you can't call someone who is MIA."

"Then I wouldn't have called him if he was," Valerian said stepping aside and gesturing to the aisle to the gallery on the main floor.

Every single head in the room turned, including Lucius' own. There stood Harry Potter just at the entrance doors on ground level, hair bound back with slight wisps around his face. He was wearing jeans that seemed a touch too snug and a t-shirt that was barely big enough with a necklace of black beads and a cross around his neck. His arms were hanging by his sides and his thumbs hooked into his pockets. He looked casual enough but there was something in his posture that made Lucius want to grin. It was like seeing a serpent feigning weakness in order to strike.

"If you please, Mr Potter."

Harry inclined his head slightly and made his way up to the front. Every single pair of eyes were glued to him as he made his way up to the front and stepped into the witness stand. When he sat down in the witness stand, he reached in his back pocket and drew out his wand, resting it on the top of the wooden bars. That caused another flurry of panic to sweep through the room. The judges had to bang on their gavels once more.

"Mr. Potter, are you aware this is a wand free court room?" one of the judges asked, pegging him with a hard glare.

"Yes. The security wizard attempted to take it from me."

"Attempted?" the judge scowled at him.

"Yes. He picked it up and suddenly found his arm covered in welts. My wand doesn't like being handled by other wizards. You can try to take it if you like."

As if on cue, a spurt of dark green sparks came from the tip of Harry's wand. The judges whispered amongst themselves and then proceeded to call Valerian to examine his witness. Lucius watched as Valerian strode up and did his usual thing. Harry gave all his answers flawlessly, but Lucius couldn't help but feel a gnawing sense of worry. If Harry wasn't careful, the prosecution would look to exploit any opening. It seemed that Valerian had realised this as well and was carefully constructing his queries to allow Harry some room to manoeuvre for when the prosecution took their crack at him. He knew that Harry must have known what he was doing – otherwise, he wouldn't be doing this – and prepared for it. After all, he had that air of ease about him. Or, he could have simply charged in here with no concrete plan and was simply faking the ease in an attempt to throw off the prosecution. Lucius didn't even want to entertain that notion. Harry wasn't stupid; he must have prepared for this in some way. It seemed like the gnawing worry abruptly developed into a pit right in the middle of Lucius stomach.

"Prosecution, your witness…"

Lucius blinked and watched as the prosecutor smoothed down her hair and robes before rising and making her way to the stand. When did Valerian finish with his examination?

"Don't worry," Valerian whispered as he sat back down. "He's a smart kid."

"I know that," Lucius hissed back, in a voice that clearly contradicted his calmness. "I'm more worried for the prosecution. If she riles him up…"

"Then I say sit back and watch the show." Valerian said with a smug smile.

Bloody hell; Valerian had that same smirk on his face again. Maybe Lucius should have paid attention to the questions he asked Harry instead of fretting.

"Now, if you would please state your name for the record."

"Again?" Harry asked archly. "Harold James Potter. Born July 31st, 1981." He frowned. "Hey, my birthday passed and I didn't even realise it. I'm 17!"

A slight chuckle passed through the courtroom. Lucius found himself hoping to Salazar that Harry was deliberately playing the 'I am your Saviour and just a young boy; please love me' angle as best he could.

"Happy birthday then," the prosecutor murmured. "And, if I may –"

"Sorry to interrupt you," Harry said sheepishly, leaning forward. "What's your name? I'm going to feel silly sitting here and just calling you prosecutor."

"Bella," the woman said with a slight flush. "Now then Mr. Potter –"

"You can call me Harry."

Bella regarded him for a moment. "Very well then. Harry, how exactly do you know the accused?"

"Do you mean, when did I first meet him, or when did I first get to know him?"

"Clever boy…" Lucius muttered; splitting the question so finely would force the prosecution to make their move.

"I told you…" Valerian murmured in a singsong voice.

"When did you first meet him, then?"

"In Flourish and Blotts when I went to pick up my books for second year."

"Did you meet him again after that?"

"Once at Hogwarts, Miss Bella. We had a few words. Then again at the Quidditch World Cup, but he was all the way at the other end of the box. And then once more after that… I think… been cramming my head full of stuff to prepare for my N.E.W.Ts…" he held his hands up apologetically.

"Describe the circumstances of this recent meeting, as best you can, please."

"Well, like Professor Snape said before, it was me, Mr. Malfoy and him all in a room to brew a potion."

"It must have been a simple potion if you could brew it in a day."

Harry regarded Bella for a long moment, something flickering in his eyes for a moment before it vanished away. "Nope; we had to spend a month in there, I think… yeah, it was a month. That thing was a real bitch to brew."

"Language, Mr Potter…" a judge chided from their seat.

"Sorry,"

Harry flashed an apologetic grin and Lucius could have sworn the judge swooned a little bit. He gritted his teeth and continued to listen.

"Why would you have to spend a month brewing a potion?"

"Well Voldemort – "

That was all Harry managed to get out before the courtroom was filled with shrieking, fainting people and general hysteria. Harry sat on the stand looking sufficiently puzzled while the judges banged on their gavels imperiously attempting to maintain order.

"Mr. Potter," one of the judges said in a tight voice. "If you utter that name once more in the court room, you will be removed in contempt of the law, am I understood?"

"Sorry," Harry mumbled, staring at his hands, looking properly abashed. "I really didn't mean to frighten everyone like that."

The judges grumbled and motioned for Bella to continue.

"As I asked before Harry, why would you have to spend a month brewing the potion?"

"Well, the Dark Lord had used my blood in a ritual in order to resurrect himself. Like Professor Snape said, the potion we brewed used that against him."

"Yes, and we all know what his word is worth."

"He probably won't want me to say this," Harry replied smoothly. "But he's helped me loads of times. More than he probably should have, considering the amount of silly, stupid things I've done. Not to mention all those people with the Wolfsbane potion alone. Hell, he discovered Veritaserum. I'm quite sure the Ministry knows all about that conveniently enough," he infused a bit of acid into his tone and his gaze flitted to Lucius for a split second. "His word is worth plenty in my book. I'd certainly take his word over some one else's, I can tell you that much."

Bella arched and eyebrow and continued on. "So, you tricked the Dark Lord into ingesting this potion?"

Harry looked at her incredulously. "That's a badly worded question. You make it sound like I walked right up to the Dark Lord and politely asked him to drink the potion, if it wouldn't be too much of an inconvenience to him."

Definite chuckles ran through the courtroom now, and a few came from the judges as well. Lucius felt the worry inside his stomach lessen a bit. So far, Harry was doing well on his own.

"I apologise; I should be clearer. Were you the one who tricked the Dark Lord into drinking the brew?"

"No; that was Mr. Malfoy. I don't know how he managed that, but he did somehow."

"I see," Bella paused for a moment. "What can you tell me exactly about this brew?"

"Why are you asking me?" Harry asked almost immediately. "You asked professor Snape about this already. Besides, he's the potions master, not me."

"Simply answer the question Harry."

"It took a month to brew," Harry began, furrowing his brow as if he was concentrating very hard. "And it was complicated as hell."

"Can you tell me about the ingredients?"

Lucius saw that same flash again in Harry's eyes and realised he was quickly becoming irritated with the woman. He glanced over to find Valerian calmly taking notes. Almost as if sensing Lucius' uncertainly, he leaned backwards slightly and whispered.

"She's taking the tack of questioning the Boy-Who-Lived about the potion. In a way it makes sense; he can never do wrong; but that will strengthen our defence. But I get the feeling Mr. Potter here will show her just why she shouldn't try to goad him in any regard."

"The only definitive thing I can recall is that my blood was used."

That caused momentary flurries of conversation to sweep through the crowd. Once it died down Bella was looking at Harry as if he was a hare caught in a trap.

"You are aware that blood is an illegal potions ingredient, correct Harry?"

Harry blinked in what had to be feigned surprise. "I am now."

Bella looked as if Christmas had come early. "Surely Professor Snape informed you of this. Am I to assume that the potion you brewed was a poison of an illegal Dark sort, Harry?"

"Define illegal and Dark please. Everyone has slightly varying ideas of what that constitutes."

Bella looked at him sharply. "The terms illegal and Dark are fairly straightforward, Harry."

"Well, I'm asking because the potion was brewed at Hogwarts, which, as you know, is exempt from Ministry law. It is ruled by the Board of Governers and administered by the Headmaster. Any sort of endeavour that goes on in the school grounds by any student or teacher has to be cleared with the headmaster first. And he's the one who provided the room and most of the materials. In this case, the potion in question wouldn't be illegal in any manner whatsoever."

Lucius couldn't help but smirk. It was refreshing to know that Harry had actually read Hogwarts: A History. So very few students did; it gave the perfect excuses to wriggle out of so many things.

Bella cleared her throat. "Nevertheless, the Dark nature of the brew must be called into question."

"I kind of doubt that. I see magic and potions and whatnot as a clean slate. It's what individuals do with it that makes people regard them as good or bad. I can bet you that if the Dark Lord really wanted to, he could have taken another spell like a tickling curse and twisted it so we'd be calling it the fourth Unforgivable."

"Be that as it may," Bella frowned. "As Professor Snape explained earlier on, the potion was designed to turn your blood against the Dark Lord. In essence you poisoned him; with the assistance of Mr. Malfoy. Was this some sort of attempt on Mr. Malfoy's part to keep his freedom and terrorise more –"

A flicker of a scowl crossed Harry's face. Then there came a sudden blur of motion from a judge's hand and a gavel flew across the room and smacked Bella in the face so hard, it knocked her to the ground. Lucius watched as Harry gave her a mild look, halfway between amusement and vindictiveness.

"Your eminence," Bella protested thickly.

"You were dangerously close to badgering the witness…" a judge said after a few minutes.

Bella seemed to take a few moments to compose herself, with Harry still watching her. Lucius had the distinct impression that Harry was sizing her up, attempting to find the best manner in which to easily dispose of her. It took Bella a few more minutes before she removed her hands from her face and took a deep breath.

"Did Mr. Malfoy ever indicate that having you testify on his behalf would be appreciated? Rewarded even?"

Harry gave Bella mild look of offence. "Nothing of that nature ever came up in the course of the month."

"Are you quite sure, Harry? You said yourself that you've been busy studying for your N.E.W.Ts."

"I'm pretty sure. I keep track of who owes me what or who I'm indebted to." Harry said after a moment of silent thought.

"Even wizards who helped you engage in illegal acts."

Harry took a deep breath of infinite patience. "I just told you."

"True Hogwarts does have laws unto itself. However, this 'potion' that you three set about brewing was classified as Class A, meaning regulated by strict Ministry guidelines. Even this cannot be ignored by the Headmaster and Board of Governors. The only way to gain most of the ingredients, of which slipped your mind Harry, require clearance from the Ministry. Shall I inform you as to some of the ingredients?"

"Please," Harry said in a somewhat cool tone.

Bella strode over to the table and picked up a sheaf of paper. "Jagannath stones, two types of dragon bile, Erumpent Exploding Liquid, Manticore scorpion stinger, couckle liver… the list goes one. The procedure alone is over five pages long."

"Is it? I just received instructions from Professor Snape. I never saw the actual document itself."

"I see," Bella tucked the sheaf of parchment under her arm. "If you could hazard a guess, where do you think Professor Snape found these instructions?"

The corner of Harry's lip curled into a smirk. "Hogwarts does have a library. It conveniently has books in it."

"Harry, you're very close to being held in contempt," Bella frowned.

"Then don't ask me such stupid questions," Harry said with a shrug. "With an entire library at our disposal, don't you think we'd find it somewhere in there?"

Bella looked Harry hard in the eyes. "Are you aware of what purgery is, Harry?"

The worry that had been progressively lessening in Lucius' gut sharpened as Bella said those words. Just what was she getting at now? He could even see the consternation on Valerian's face and that usually didn't spell something good.

"Basically you don't want me to lie on that stand," Harry watched her carefully for a moment. "You act like I have something to lie about Bella."

"I just find it incredibly odd that you spent a month in the room, your blood was the key ingredient in this illegal poison and you didn't even get a glance at the procedure once." Bella mused.

Harry blinked at her and then chuckled. "You don't know a Potions Master then. Professor Snape never let it out of his sight or far from his fingertips. He was constantly going over it and double checking facts and making sure nothing went wrong. He probably would have hexed me if I breathed on it wrong. He would have hexed dust for landing on it."

Lucius heard Valerian breath a low sigh of relief. "She almost had him there."

"Oddly enough," Lucius murmured. "That's the first full truth he's told so far."

Valerian snorted loudly and quickly covered it up with a cough as he drew attention to himself. He waved his hand to dismiss their worry and quickly drank down some water. Once Bella went back to questioning Harry Valerian tilted his head slightly to Lucius.

"Look on the bright side. She thinks she's leading him around, but he has her on a good and short leash."

Lucius lips curled into a semi-snarl. "I'd much rather hex her to pieces."

"The feeling is mutual," Valerian replied. "Unfortunately for you, the judge imposed a ban on you buying a wand, pending your final verdict."

Lucius didn't even want to hear that again. Just sitting there the first time hearing it… the urge to not try some wandless magic was tempting. But the Ministry certainly knew his magical signature at this point. The less trouble he remained out of, the better the chance of a lighter verdict.

The rest of the cross-examination didn't take very long. Lucius wasn't sure which fact was worse. The fact that he wanted to make Bella suffer for simply existing, to make her suffer for putting Harry through the longest and weakest cross-examination ever. Or the simple fact that Harry was there, alive and breathing and he wanted nothing more than to just be alone with him.

"Thank you Harry, you may step down."

Almost immediately, the court room was filled with titters as Harry walked down to the gallery and sat down beside Severus. This time, the judges only had to bang their gavels twice before pure silence descended in the room. They surveyed the galleries before speaking.

"As this has run late with the defence's rather surprise witnesses, closing statements will be made tomorrow morning. Both of the defence's witnesses will be delivered to the appropriate housing conditions pending the final verdict upon which they shall be allowed to return to their original place of living."

And with that, the judges slammed their gavels down once more and gathered up their notes and filed out. The courtroom had already erupted into noise which was feeding out into the main hallway. Valerian was gathering up his notes and organising them.

"This is open and shut," he said. "You should be a free man by tomorrow."

"Should? Is that some pessimism I sense?"

Valerian simply chuckled and started to make his way to the door. "Come on, I've got to deliver you home. You don't need anything else in Diagon Alley, do you?"

"Nothing else." Lucius said simply walking beside him.

"Then let's go," Valerian paused as he cracked open the door and the sound of screaming and voices assaulted them. "If we can work our way through that through of frantic witches and wizards, that is."

Lucius grimaced as he saw the throng that had developed around Severus, Remus and Harry. They both looked like they wanted to bolt and Harry looked like he was restraining from using his wand altogether. Valerian sighed.

"You think this is bad now, just wait until he hits outside the courthouse. If he doesn't go blind after tonight, I'll be amazed."

Lucius followed after Valerian as he pushed his way through the crowd. The sheer noise was deafening and he was just on the fringes. He winced as the pitch grew louder and louder. He almost missed the first shriek; it blended right in with the others. But when they came more regularly, he turned around to find Severus, Harry and Remus standing alone, a ring around them, littered with bits and pieces of cameras. Harry had a black look on his face and Severus looked like he was restraining pure, unmitigated amusement. Remus on the other hand looked sorely vexed with a look of strained patience. When Harry stepped forward, the ring immediately parted for him.

Not a single word was said as Harry started walking away, Severus and Remus following beside him. Severus looked like something good had happened for once. Remus looked displeased. Harry looked ready to get out of there. Valerian murmured something to him but he vaguely heard it. He was far too busy watching Harry's deliberate stride and posture. He was daring anyone else to even attempt approaching him for reasons he found unsuitable.

Harry must have felt Lucius gaze on him since he glanced in their direction. He paused, looking at them, before he finally spoke.

"Mr. Nihilare, Mr. Malfoy," he inclined his head slightly before continuing on.

The entire exchange was made all the more eerie by the absolute silence that filled the hallway. What made Lucius' gut twist was the way Remus froze somewhat as he glanced at Harry and then looked right at Lucius him, nostrils flaring. And then the manner in which he narrowed his eyes and his lips pulled back into a vicious snarl. As if he smelled something he didn't like in the slightest and was quite willing to wipe it off the face of the Earth in the bloodiest, most excruciating manner possible.

Once they reached the front door, the rush of sound that came with the door opening, seemed to jolt everyone back into motion. Some of the witches and wizards chased after Harry but most of them decided to keep their distance. Remus was still in the doorway, giving him that damning look before he snorted and disappeared through the door as well.

"Lucius. Lucius. Lucius!"

Lucius swung his gaze from the door to Valerian. "Yes?"

"Come on, it's time to get you back to the Manor."

Lucius nodded his head and went with Valerian over to the Floo fireplaces He was immensely glad this was over with tomorrow.


	25. Chapter 24

_**

* * *

Come the Maëlstrom**_

_Chapter 24_

Harry really didn't know what was up with Remus. He'd been acting somewhat skittish since they'd left the courtroom. Sure he and Severus were being taken to their lodgings for the night, but that wouldn't have been the problem. Maybe it was all those photographers that were waiting for them outside the courthouse. Or maybe something stank really badly and only the former Marauder could smell it. He didn't know but it was starting to make him worry. Remus almost always never acted like this. Hell, he'd practically badgered the watch wizard into allowing him into Harry's room for some private words.

At the moment, the werewolf was sitting at the foot of Harry's bed with a thoughtful frown on his face, still not speaking. Harry glanced at him every so often from the head of the bed he lay stretched across, flipping through the latest copy of Witch Weekly that was in the room. He felt a little nauseous at the sight of so many articles and theories speculating what happened to him, as well as what appeared to be a good amount of witches, and the odd wizard or two, claiming to be carrying his child.

After a few more minutes of the tense awkward silence, Harry flipped the magazine shut and shifted, sitting up to face Remus fully. "All right, what is it?"

"What?" Remus looked up at Harry in slight surprise.

"You know what I'm talking about," Harry said after a moment. "You've been sitting there looking as if someone ran over your cat."

Remus simply gave Harry a curious, piercing look. "That's because I don't quite believe what happened today."

"With that Bella woman? That's nothing to –"

"Outside the courtroom, Harry."

"All right, so I got a bit mad. I didn't mean to make their cameras explode. They just wouldn't stop and –"

"Not that Harry," Remus replied. "Though I can't say that I am pleased with you for doing that in the slightest."

"Then what is it?" Harry asked as he ran a hand through his hair a bit lazily.

"The full moon is approaching. Four days left..." Remus began pointedly.

"Yeah, and..." Harry looked at him; just what was Remus getting at.

"You know what happens when the full moon approaches," Remus said quietly as he rubbed at his temple.

"Yeah, and..." Harry repeated once more; sure, their sight became a bit better, their hearing and sense of smell sharpened, they pretty much became a true wolf trapped in a human body. "I'm failing to see how this connects with the courtroom in any manner."

"Do you know how sharp a werewolf's sense of smell can get Harry?"

"No; I just know that it gets sharper as the moon approaches."

Remus didn't say anything for a moment. "In a room crammed full of people, a werewolf could track down just one person."

"All right," Harry said.

"Before when I smelled that scent on you..." Remus shook his head. "I couldn't quite figure it out. I managed to track down who I thought it was in Hogwarts."

Harry's mouth immediately went dry; he suddenly had a very bad feeling about where this was headed. "And?"

"You certainly haven't been in some sort of relationship with Draco Malfoy. He smelled... different, too young. But you have been with a Malfoy... an older Malfoy, haven't you Harry?"

Harry swallowed hard as Remus' eyes bored into his. "Wh-What exactly are you referring to?"

"That won't work Harry," Remus said in a quiet, warning voice. "I caught Lucius' scent today; it's the exact same scent that was all over you... _marking_ you."

"Fuck..." Harry muttered as he broke Remus' gaze and looked down at his hands; he was really going to get it now.

"What happened Harry?" Remus' tone softened a little. "He didn't... he didn't rape you did he?"

"What?! No! He would never do something like that to me!" Harry exclaimed angrily. 

And in that precise moment, Harry felt like cursing himself. There was nothing but surprise written all over Remus' face. If there was something he could do to indefinitely spell his mouth shut, he would have gladly done it now. It looked like Remus was preparing to ask him a ton of questions that would undoubtedly be difficult to answer.

"So," Remus began after a moment. "What is it you're not telling me? Or rather what you've not told anyone else?"

"Where do you want me to start?" Harry muttered.

"The beginning sounds like a good place."

"The beginning of all this?" Harry frowned. "Only if you don't get angry. You can ask questions but just don't get angry and don't draw conclusions until I'm done, all right?" 

"I think I can manage that," Remus said evenly after a moment.

Harry gave him a nervous look before he took a deep breath. "Well, you know when I disappeared during that battle? I wasn't alone. Lucius was with me."

"But, you said you were pretty much alone until you were found by Ernesto and Valencia," Remus' brow furrowed. "Why did you lie?"

"I didn't lie. It was simply an... omission," Harry looked anxiously at Remus. "And for all the help that Lucius was at the time, I might as well have been alone."

"You and Lucius Malfoy were together for three months?"

"In Spain, yeah," Harry said, shifting his gaze to stare at his hands once more. "We had no choice but to get along; well, to try our best. About a week into it, we didn't have to try so hard to get along. It got easier and easier and... uhm... stuff."

He could feel a slight flush spreading over his face. Remus was watching him closely.

"Merlin Harry do you realised you just lied on the stand?" he finally said.

"How so?" Harry asked. "I wasn't about to volunteer than information. Besides, I doubt she could, or would have known about it. Dumbledore probably had my disappearance kept all hush-hush."

Remus frowned. "An omission once again?"

"She didn't ask, so I didn't tell. I know that the witness stand has anti-fibbing spells on it; Miss MacDougal told me that. But it seriously does depend on how you view certain things."

"Jeez, I think you just found the loophole that the judicial system doesn't even know." Remus muttered. "So you and Lucius have been... together?"

"Yeah," Harry muttered. "Two and a half months in Spain...it was great," he couldn't stop the wistful smile of reminiscence from coming to his face. "Coming back to England has made it all hellish."

"You've been with him twice since you've both come back?"

Harry nodded his head. "The first time I ran into him by accident; I didn't even know he was in the school. The second time was just after we finished brewing the Cruoris potion."

Remus didn't say anything for a long time, simply contemplating Harry, before he finally spoke. "Is this why you decided to come and testify?"

"Partially," Harry said, feeling his face start to burn. "I really don't want him to call in the favour in some other manner... if you get my drift."

Remus raised an eyebrow at that and Harry decided that keeping his eyes glued to his hands was a very good idea. After a few minutes of silence a sigh came from Remus' direction and the bed springing back as he rose from his seat. When Harry hazarded to look up, he found Remus pacing on a small spot of the floor.

"So you two ended up in Spain, formed some sort of truce but ended up in a relationship?" Remus asked before pausing and then speaking once more. "A _consensual_ relationship?"

"Yes," Harry said in a small hesitant voice.

"You certainly don't sound sure." Remus said a bit sharply.

"Well, I'm expecting you to simply lose in a few seconds," Harry replied. "And, to be honest, you're scary when you're really ticked off. Terrifying is more the word."

"I'm doing my best to avoid that," Remus said after taking a deep breath. "What I'm trying to figure out is why; why Lucius Malfoy of all people."

"It not like I pick the person I fall in love with," Harry said as he made his way to the edge of the bed. "But I'm glad it's him; better him than someone else. He doesn't treat me like a celebrity; he doesn't treat me like glass. He just... erm," Harry glanced at Remus. "He treats me like me; nothing else."

Remus halted his steps and swung his gaze back to Harry once again and looked at him for a long moment. "Love? It's only been what, a little over half a year since you've gotten involved with him. And at least half of that time has been spent away from him; how can you claim to love him now?"

"You sound like you have a problem with this..." Harry finally said after a long moment of silence.

"I can't deny that. You're just hitting me with one new thing after another. First you admit you weren't alone when you were in Spain, then you tell me you were with Lucius Malfoy of all people. Next you tell me you've been in a relationship with him, and implied that there was intimacy, and now you're telling me that you love him..." Remus took a deep breath. "I think I've been doing extraordinarily well given the circumstances. Anyone else might have flipped out and started hexing things left right and centre."

"True..." Harry admitted in a small voice.

Remus resumed his pacing and ran a hand through his hair. "I wonder how Dumbledore will take this."

"Dumbledore can keep his big nose out of it," Harry mumbled.

"Pardon?" Remus asked incredulously.

"Never mind," Harry said quickly, knowing that Remus had heard every word. "At least you're not visibly angry."

Remus gave a peculiar sort of wry grimace before his face immediately fell. "But you're happy with him?" he asked finally.

"Very," Harry said, his brows furrowing together; just what was Remus getting at now.

"You're positive?"

"Beyond positive." Harry said firmly.

Remus snorted. "Considering the way he marked you, I'd have to say that it's reciprocated," he didn't say anything for a long moment before he faced Harry squarely. "I can't say that I'm..."

"Pleased?"

"No."

"Happy that we're happy together?"

"Not quite."

"Thrilled?"

"... That'll do. A lot of Lucius' past stands against him. And he does seem to have genuinely changed. But I swear to Merlin, if he does anything to hurt you, I'll rip him apart limb from limb."

Harry blinked in the face of the snarled words. It seemed so very unlike Remus. "Er... all right... I'll make sure to tell him. And you, you're going to be all right with this?"

"It'll take me a good long while to get used to the fact. But so long as you're consenting, happy and he's not forcing you to do anything, I'm not about to interfere. It's your life and, like you said, it's not like you can choose the people you fall in love with."

"Thanks Professor Lupin!" Harry said, feeling immensely relieved.

"I really don't know why you keep insisting on calling me that. Remus is fine you know." Remus grumbled.

"All right then... um... Remus. It sounds a bit odd calling you that."

"Give it some time," Remus sighed. "I really should get going. I'll bet the watch wizard outside is about to have a fit since I've been in here so long."

"And Professor Snape is right across the hall. Anyone trying to get to me would have to get through the watch wizard and probably Professor Snape and then me with my wand. I'm perfectly fine," Harry said.

Remus nodded his head. "Then I'll leave you to get some rest. You did get all your essays done, right?"

"Yes," Harry said. "All I have left to do are the optional N.E.W.Ts; I'll probably do those after I get adjusted to my new wand."

"All right then," Remus smiled suddenly and ruffled Harry's hair. "Try to not wear out the watch wizard, all right?"

"All right," Harry said with a grin.

He couldn't stop grinning as Remus walked to the door and slipped out with a small wave of farewell. Once the door closed shut, he flopped back onto the bed, grinning goofily at the ceiling. He hadn't given much thought to anyone else finding out. But he felt immensely grateful that it was Remus who had found out and hadn't criticised him for it.

"That really wasn't so bad..." he murmured.

* * *

This had to be the most nerve wracking morning of his life. Lucius knew what the verdict would be. But still, he didn't want to take any chances until the judges handed it down. Up until that moment, anything could still happen. He was standing in the front foyer, in his best robe, waiting for Valerian to show up.

The silence in the foyer seemed oppressive, as if someone was watching him with taciturn disapproval. He had half a mind to go and have a conversation with Bastion when the sound of someone Flooing in made him look over; that and the general cacophony of someone nearly missing a Floo landing.

"Jeez you're Floo fireplace is dangerous! I swear it looked like I was perfectly fine and then bam! I'm lurching to the side in an attempt to stay steady and not fall flat on my face."

"And good morning to you as well, Miss Tonks," Lucius said with a sardonic smile curving at the corners of his mouth.

She grinned at him, dusting the Floo powder from her robes. "Morning Lucius. Hope you don't mind that I couldn't make it yesterday. Valerian got me though. Said he wanted to go and speak to Harry so I'm taking you to the courthouse today."

"Not a problem," Lucius said simply as he gestured back to the fireplace.

"Give a witch a moment! I could have cracked my head against your floor."

"Proving once again that you're not exactly the inept Auror." Lucius quipped.

"Ah, just be quiet." Tonks chuckled as she shook her head slightly. "So, got everything you need with you? Not forgetting anything?"

"And just what could I possibly be forgetting? Clothes?" he asked dryly.

Tonks looked at him before screwing up her face and sticking her tongue out at him. Lucius gestured to the fireplace once more, this time including a slight bow. He could hear her mutter something about irony and sticking it somewhere as she motioned for him to enter the fireplace first. She squeezed in beside him, grabbed his arm and flung down the Floo powder.

When they arrived in the main hallway of the courthouse, a veritable chaotic press of bodies greeted him. There were camera flashes going off in all directions and reporters with quills and parchment in hand, already doing their best to get their questions answered.

"Daily Prophet! Did you know Harry Potter would be attending your trial?"

"Wizard's Liason! What's your connection to the Boy-Who-Lived?"

"Oracular! What do you think your final verdict will be?"

"Bombastic Monthly! Is it true that you've funded certain activist groups? That you continue to fund them? For what reason?"

"Witch Weekly! Are you really sleeping with Severus Snape? What's the true nature of your involvement with him? Was he your illicit lover?"

Lucius did his best to ignore the questions as they were flung at him. But they seemed to rile him up almost immediately. Tonks seemed ready to jab a few people in the eye with her wand, as she did her best to get them a clear path to the courtroom door. Once they managed to get in and force the door closed once more – with the help of watch wizards – he made his way up to the front while Tonks took a seat in the front row. As he sat down beside Valerian, he could hear Tonks' voice.

"Harry!" she whispered. "Great to see you here."

"Hi Tonks!" Harry murmured back. "It's been awhile hasn't it? Did you manage to wade through the reporters all right?"

"Yeah, suppose so. I think I was about ready to hex a few of them. I know they need a quote or something, but really, they can be so obnoxious about it."  
  
"Hey, better than Rita Skeeter, isn't it?"

"Yeah. Being disgraced like that certainly wasn't something she planned, was it?"

"Nope. Thank Hermione for that; she got sick of that bug's malicious–"

"Lucius," Valerian hissed as he leaned over. "You got here just in time. The judges are coming out now."

Lucius looked up to see the side door opening and saw the figures of the six judges coming out. Everybody in the galleries rose, a hushed silence falling over the courtroom as the judges walked up to their bench and settled themselves in their seats as comfortably as possible. After waiting through a few second of this, everybody sat down. Lucius wasn't quite too sure if he was holding his breath or not as he sat back down in his seat.

"Don't worry, you're fine," Valerian murmured under his breath. "You can breathe you know."

A soft gust of breath left Lucius as he glanced over at Valerian; the man had a semi-pleased smirk on his face. He shifted his gaze back to the table in front of him, focusing on his folded hands. It was certainly better than looking up at the judges and simply increasing this feeling of anxiety inside him.

"Now," one of the judges began; Lucius fixed his gaze at some point just below the surface of the bench. "If neither the defence nor prosecution have any more witnesses to call..."

"None your Eminences," Bella stated in a very sour tone.

"None as well your Honours," Valerian said as he rose.

"Very well then. As this is a closed trial, we too it upon ourselves to deliberate last night; less chance of any undue influences," the judge paused before speaking once more. "This trial has been landmark in many points and certainly was drawn out much longer than anyone anticipated..."

Lucius stifled the urge to roll his eyes and leaned in towards Valerian slightly. "Are they going to keep this pace up?"

"Probably," Valerian nodded his head imperceptibly. "Just try to look engaged. Or appropriately humble, whichever suits your mood more at the moment."

The urge to snort in disgust was overpowering, but Lucius managed to suppress it. The judge droned on and on. It was starting to numb Lucius' mind and he felt his eyelids growing heavy. A vague thought of whether this judge was a distant relative of Binns was pushed from his memory as Valerian nudged him abruptly in the side.

".. and it is the decision of this panel that Lucius Malfoy shall not serve time in Azkaban."

There was a split second of silence before the entire courtroom erupted into a general sound of outrage. Lucius closed his eyes in relief. Even in all the noise, he could feel a pair of eyes resting on him, and he could have sworn they felt immensely pleased. He would not turn around to even glance at Harry. He knew he was be possessed by an irrational urge again; this time, he'd probably want to walk right up to the Gryffindor and kiss him in front of everyone there.

The judge waved his gavel about imperiously and then called over the watch wizard. A few moments later the thunderous sound of the gavel being pounded down repeatedly and furiously. The babble took a good while to die down. The judge was glaring down his nose at everyone, as if that alone could get them to shut up. Once silence had come back to the courtroom, he spoke once more.

"Upon the condition that his activities be monitored for the space of 9 months; should you prove to engage in any suspicious activity Mr. Malfoy, you will find yourself back in this courtroom in less favourable circumstances, have I made myself clear?"

"Perfectly, your Honour," Lucius replied as he rose and bowed slightly.

"Good, Miss Nymphadora Tonks has been assigned to monitor you and you will listen to and do as she instructs," Lucius easily heard Tonks disgruntled mutters about a mother who must have been barmy. "Now in regards to your wand, come next Monday you will be able to buy one without fear or reprisal. All your tainted assets have been stripped away and all manner of questionable goods removed from your home."

Lucius simply arched an eyebrow slightly at that; what wasn't sold off to Borgin & Bourkes fell into the definite category of grey; not exactly good but not exactly bad either.

"if you can make it through the nine month period, you shall be perfectly free; think of it as a probationary measure."

The judge gave a rather evil, sardonic smirk before he banged down on his gavel imperiously and rose, the other judges rising along with him and filing out from the courtroom. Lucius turned to look at Valerian who looked just as surprised as he did.

"Probationary period?" Lucius spat out.

"That I wasn't anticipating," Valerian murmured as he rose with a furrow in his brow. "We'll discuss it back at your manor. That _is_ untainted, isn't it?"

"It is." Lucius said simply.

"Good, then let's get going."

"Hey, I'm coming with you!" Tonks piped up. "Gotta set up some ground rules, all right Lucius? Shouldn't take too much of your time."

Lucius turned to look at Tonks and nodded his head slowly. Both Tonks and Valerian fell into conversation and he followed after them, but he found his gaze straying to the spot beside where Tonks had been sitting. Where Harry had been sitting and currently wasn't.

"Lucius! Come on!" Valerian said impatiently. "I' haven't got all day you know!"

He flicked an annoyed look at his barrister; the man always got testy when the outcome wasn't exactly what he wanted it to be. He made his way over and walked towards the doors between Tonks and Valerian through the crowd, looking back at that empty spot every so often.


	26. Chapter 25

_**Come the Maëlstrom**_

_Chapter 25_

Harry couldn't be happier that it was simply the N.E.W.T examination schedule he had to deal with at Hogwarts. And by the second week of September he would be graduating from Hogwarts and never looking back. Hell, he hadn't even realized a whole slew of people had graduated when he was still in a coma. But it made the exams that much quicker and simpler. There weren't as many people in the room with him. They didn't need to have up to six students in a room. With so many examiners, it was three students to every examiner in almost every respective subject.

The only thing that was starting to irritate him now was the fact that reporters seemed to think that they were privileged enough to sneak on the grounds and attempt to sneak pictures of him.

Attempt was the proper word in this case. He usually saw them coming or just in the nick of time. And his temper would explode almost immediately as would their camera. And then they would be escorted off the grounds, usually by Remus or Hagrid. Both men were becoming highly irritated with the intrusions.

Almost no one really bothered him when they saw him in a black mood, which was just about all the time now. If he went outside, he was stalked by reporters. If he stayed inside, he found himself besieged by the remaining students – being a celebrity was even worse when it was a select few student that had become surprisingly good at tracking him down.

They were starting to smother him. It was stifling and he felt like something inside him was starting to cracking under the unrelenting pressure. The only people who didn't seem to seek him out all the time was either Hermione or Ron. He knew Hermione was busy with preparing for something very important. Ron... Ron just seemed to vanish most of the time.

And that was why he was wandering around the school now in an attempt to find him. He methodically made his way down from the top floor all the way down to the dungeons without once seeing the redhead. Frowning in frustration, he sprinted back up the stairs to the Gryffindor common room as fast as he could. When he arrived a bit breathless, he found Hermione and Ginny seated at the table, looking over their respective piles of parchment.

"'Mione," he said after a few minutes. "Have you seen –"

"Ron?" Hermione finished for him.

Harry nodded his head. Hermione glanced at Ginny. Ginny's face became a bit pinched and pale and she looked back down at her parchments abruptly. Hermione rose hastily and ushered Harry back outside.

"'Mione, what on Earth was that about?" Harry asked once the door had closed firmly.

"Ron's down at the memorial gardens; he's probably with Parvati."

Harry blinked at her. "Memorial gardens?" he repeated in disbelief.

"Yes, the memorial gardens," Hermione said softly. "Ginny doesn't want to go down there. They're down there and it hurts her too much. She doesn't even like it to be mentioned."

"They? Who're they?"

"Dean and Neville."

Harry's brow furrowed at the manner in which Hermione said Neville's name. "I thought she was with Dean."

"She was. And she was with Neville. And Neville was with Dean. It worked out nicely for them," Hermione said wistfully. "I'm surprised you didn't see it earlier."

"She was with both of them?" Harry looked at Hermione in amazement.

"Yes, keep your voice down," Hermione hissed. "The point is she lost Dean right away in the battle. And a few days after she saw you, she sat by Neville's side as he died. Please, don't mention it around her. We tried to get her to go to counselling but she just flat out refused."

"So the memorial garden really is..." he felt a nauseating sensation in his stomach; he'd been hoping that maybe, just maybe, it wasn't for what its name implied.

Hermione nodded his head. "It's out by the lake. Can't miss it. There's a little stone path that leads out to it from the courtyard."

"All right," Harry glanced at the portrait of the Fat Lady who was dozing in a cushy seat. "Is Gin going to be –"

"I don't know Harry," Hermione said wearily. "I honestly, for once in my life, don't know. I would like to say yes..."

Harry watched as she looked back at the portrait as well. He nodded his head a moment later and placed a hand on Hermione's shoulder squeezing slightly. Hermione gave him a slight sort of smile before she gave him a quick hug and shooed him off to go find Ron.

He made his way down to the courtyard, surprised by the brisk breeze that had picked up. His hands dug into his pockets as he followed the path through the courtyard. Sure enough, the path now had a fork in it, one winding its way down to the lake. He followed it, seeing the low bushes and flowers moving with the breeze. There were two figures, seated on the grass. Ron's familiar red head was plainly visible from her and Parvati's black hair contrasted it sharply. Harry halted his feet, wondering if this was a good time. Ron seemed to be very busy with whatever he and Parvati were doing. He was contemplating turning back around when he heard his name called out.

"Harry!"

He looked up to find Parvati waving to him. Well, so much for that. He started walking again, passing by the shrubs, trees and flowers. Ron and Parvati were sitting on a low bench. Parvati was nestled in Ron's arms and they looked comfortably entwined.

"Hey Harry," Ron said with a sheepish grin.

"How's it going Ron?" Harry asked as he rocked on his heels slightly.

"Pretty good," Ron mumbled into Parvati's hair.

An awkward silence descended before Parvati left Ron's arms and stood up.

"It's getting a little chilly out here. How about I go get us all some cloaks and maybe something hot to drink, hm?"

"Um," Ron began.

But Parvati had already started back for the castle. Harry watched her go for a moment before he turned his attention back to Ron.

"You think she wants us to have a chat?" Harry asked in a wry tone.

Ron chuckled and shifted over on the bench. "Have a seat."

"Thanks."

Harry sat down, looking out towards the lake. Small neat rows of bronze plaques filled the space. If he had to guess, he'd say that there were about seventy five names here. But he didn't even want to guess. Guessing seemed to belittle it; and that was just as bad as disrespect for the dead in his mind's eye.

"How'd you know I was down here?" Ron finally asked.

"'Mione told me," Harry said after a moment.

"Ah... how's Gin doing?"

"She looked... I'm not going to lie Ron. She didn't look too happy. She looked miserable; a quiet sort of misery."

"I know," Ron linked his fingers and pressed them together tightly. "I don't know how to help her. She won't let anyone else. She won't even let me!" Harry watched as Ron ran a hand through his hair. "I just don't want her to do anything drastic you know. Do you know how odd it is to be keeping suicide watch on her? I mean, it's Gin... Gin..."

Harry nodded his head, looking out at the plaques still; he really didn't have any clue of what that would be like, but he was certainly that it was far from pleasant in any manner. The breeze died down to a gentle whisper as he pulled his hands from the robe pockets.

"You've been coming here, haven't you?" Harry said finally.

"Yeah," Ron gave a dry sort of snort. "The girl I like and the company of the dead. Great way to escape the problem of Ginny. Merlin, I can just see what Mum will say now," Ron grimaced. "Why aren't you looking after Ginevra! She's your sister! You're supposed to take care of her! Blah, blah, blah..."

Harry didn't say anything for a moment as Ron stared at his fingers with a set jaw. "Do you think the reason why she didn't want counselling had to do with who her counsellor is?"

"What's wrong with McGonagall?" Ron asked after a moment.

"Well, true she was in the Order but Ginny didn't really know her know her, you know? Not like how she knows Remus. I'll bet she'd talk to him."

"That might work..." Ron said hesitantly. He looked up from his hands out to the lake. "I saw exactly what happened you know."

"You did?"

Ron nodded his head, studying the choppy lake water for a moment. "Yeah. At least, I saw most of what happened. Someone fired the Killing Curse right at her. Dean and Nev were there as well. Dean just shoved her out of the way. I swear it looked like Lucius Malfoy shot the curse, but I'm really not sure about that. It could have been Karakoff... it might even have been Pettigrew... it was a really bad angle."

"Cripes..." Harry muttered in a low voice.

"Yeah," Ron said softly. "But I think Gin thinks Lucius did it. She started chasing after him... left her back exposed. A Death Eater got back up to their feet, saw her back... if Nev wasn't there..."

The silence came back once more, as both Harry and Ron looked out at the lake. Nothing was said for a long moment before Ron spoke once more in a very subdued voice.

"Cho's here too."

"She is?" he watched as Ron nodded his head. "Good; then she'll get to be with Cedric."

"Harry!" Ron sounded absolutely scandalised.

"What?" Harry mumbled. "Honestly, I know it's not the nicest or best thing to say about a dead person, but all she ever went on about was Cedric this and Cedric that; that was all she ever talked about when we agreed to be friends. So I hope she's happier with him now that she was with me here. Merlin knows I was miserable enough."

Ron shook his head, shoulder shaking slightly with light laughter. "Only you Harry, only you."

"Thanks, I think." Harry said with a slight smile. "How do you think you did on your N.E.W.Ts?"

"I aced them," Ron replied after a moment. "But I only took the N.E.W.Ts to upgrade so I could improve my chances of getting into Auror school."

"You want to do that?" Harry looked at him.

"Yeah. Since I don't think I'll be getting an offer from the Chudley Cannons anytime soon, what with Quidditch shot to hell so thoroughly. Draft season's is done and finished now. I don't want to wait around until next year for a possibility. It would be nice, but considering how tough things are at home at the moment every little bit will help."

"Well..." Harry said as he rubbed his chin. "Your mum shouldn't yell at you too much. You're willing to sacrifice the chance of playing for the Cannons for the family's benefit."

"Tell that to her," Ron mumbled.

"I will if I have to. Your mum is great Ron but doesn't she ever realise that kids do eventually grow up?"

Ron laughed. "I'll let you know if I find that out for sure."

"Haven't heard you laugh in awhile, hun."

Harry looked up to find Parvati standing there with three steaming bottles of something and three cloaks. Harry took his and the bottle from her gratefully and shrugged into it. He looked over at Ron and mouthed the word 'Hun' with an arched eyebrow. Ron's face went red and gave Harry a defiant glare. Harry didn't say anything as he settled the robe on his shoulders and wrapped his slightly stiff fingers around the bottle.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Mulled apple cider," Parvati said. "I asked the house elves very nicely."

"Thanks," Harry said opening the bottle and taking a swig.

He glanced over as Parvati settled herself comfortably on Ron's lap once they had on their cloaks. They spent a bit of time simply enjoying the silence and watching the lake before Parvati spoke and a quiet conversation was started up. They never even noticed the footsteps coming. But once they got closer, Harry felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise up, as if someone was watching him. He remained perfectly still, hand sliding down to his wand tucked in its holster at his side under the cloak.

Ron had peered over at him with a questioning look. Harry saw it but didn't even say anything as he reacted. He moved in one fluid motion, drawing his wand and aiming it right at the person, while he dropped the bottle of cider in his hand. Parvati gave a squeak of surprise, dropping her own bottle as well. Ron moved with Harry, drawing his wand and aiming it in the same direction. He found himself facing a surprised Percy Weasley. His brow furrowed in bewilderment.

"Percy?" he asked, not quite believing his eyes.

"If you don't mind Harry... Percy's eyes flickered to Harry's wand.

"I mind," Ron said in a flat voice as he rose, sheathing his wand back. "C'mon Parv,"

Parvati's face clouded with confusion and Harry felt distinctly uncomfortable now. Percy however took a hasty step forward.

"I'd like to talk to you as well Ron. If you would care to stay and hear me out, that is."

Ron froze in his steps, before he turned back around slowly and regarded Percy. Harry felt a small shiver of apprehension run up his spine. The look in Ron's eyes was frosty but lit with a very displeased glare.

"Why? So you can start going on about how I make friends with dangerous, violent people and should prevent myself from going down the wrong path?"

Percy winced slightly at Ron's sharp acerbic words. Harry glanced over to find that Parvati had slipped away from Ron and drew closer to Harry. Harry didn't even think Ron had noticed; he was too focused on Percy at the moment. Parvati gave him a confused look and Harry motioned that she should wait. Undoubtedly Ron would tell her or this conversation would get way out of hand and she would learn it all eventually.

"Please..." Percy said after a moment, gesturing to the low bench once more.

"I'll stand." Ron replied immediately.

Harry gave a soft sigh as he noted the stubborn set of Ron's jaw. "C'mon Parvati. I think they might be awhile." He murmured softly so only she could hear.

"That's Percy, right? Ron's never told me about him."

"There was an... incident." Harry said. "C'mon, we'll let them have their moment."

Harry felt a small bit of relief as Parvati nodded and they started walking away. That relief didn't last long since Percy spoke once more.

"I'd like it if you could stay as well Harry; I want like to talk to you as well."

Harry paused as Ron looked back at him and Parvati. Caught between Ron's glance that looked surprised to seem the leaving, and Percy's plea that he stay, he wasn't too sure what he should have done. Thankfully, Ron solved that for him.

"Where on earth are you two going?" he demanded a moment later. "Taking off during a family moment..."

"Me?" Parvati gaped in surprise.

"Yes silly," Ron said as he looked back at Percy.

Harry glanced down at Parvati to see a bemused expression on her face. After a moment, he led her back to the bench to sit down. They both looked between Ron and Percy waiting for the situation to continue unfolding. Percy looked at Parvati in mild surprise. Harry caught the darkening scowl on Ron's face.

"Well?" the youngest Weasley demanded. "Spit it out. I don't have all day, you know."

"Of course not. And neither do I. Merlin knows that simply having three hours to myself is far too much to ask..." Percy gave a hesitant smile. "How have you been? The both of you? Or rather all three. It's been so long since I've seen you both. Well, not you Miss... I don't think I caught your name...Patil, is it? Something like that?"

Harry watched Percy in amazement. He didn't believe it; Percy Weasley, temporary Minister for Magic who had revitalised the Wizarding world, was nervous and rambling on in an attempt to cover it up.

"Get on with it." Ron growled crossing his arms.

Percy gave a heavy sigh. "I came to apologise Ron. To both you and Harry."

Harry watched Percy with an embarrassed flush coming to his face. Percy really didn't have to apologise; he'd learned the error of his ways and was correcting them to some degree.

"Apologise?" Ron gave a harsh snort. "That's a laugh. Why don't you go do some report on something hm? Cauldron bottoms, perhaps? I'm sure that's much more important at the moment."

Percy frowned for a moment before he turned to face Harry fully. "To you Harry, I apologise for the Daily Prophet's slander against you for almost two continuous years. I'm not proud to admit it, but Fudge had me working closely with that Department and assigned me to ensure the success of the Prophet's articles. I do apologise; I never meant to hurt you in such a way."

"Um... thanks... I think..." Harry said feeling distinctly uncomfortable.

"If there's anything I can do to make it up to you, please, let me know. I've informed my secretary to allow calls from family members through, so you should have no trouble getting hold of me... if I'm in the office that is."

"All right." Harry said.

"And Ron..." Percy shook his head. "I don't think anything I can say will make up for all that I've put you, Mum, Dad, everyone through. I've been a right prat. I wanted to apologise sooner but the Wizengamot work came, working for Fudge to spy on him, then that blithering idiot's attempt to take over the Ministry for You-Know-Who..."

Ron was still glaring at him but he didn't look as displeased. "Sure," he sneered. "Tell me; just what do you plan to do afterwards when you're relieved of the position? Or did you just do this so you'd be secure for a bit longer? It certainly wouldn't look good to have a Minister who's estranged from his family."

"I plan on going back to a nice little desk job somewhere," Percy said, his face turning a slight red. "Maybe the Wizengamot; I'm not exactly all that fond of the Ministry any more; Fudge let it get so corrupt... I think I'm barely making ends meet; let whoever wants the job and is qualified take it. I'll happily give it up."

"Did you talk to Mum and Dad yet?"

"Yeah. Mum was thrilled and Dad... er, Dad's glad that I realised some things. I think he's disappointed that I took so long. I'd have to say I'm disappointed in myself as well." Percy paused for a moment. "You're the first one I've come to talk to you know. The Headmaster didn't know where Ginevra was but he told me you were down here. I didn't know you had company."

Ron snorted and crossed his arms. "And what makes you think that I'm so willing to accept you back, hm?"

The scowl on Ron's face deepened a bit more and Harry saw Parvati's brow furrow in worry. He couldn't help but do the same; something was really bothering Ron. As to what it could be, he had no idea.

"I'm thinking the exact opposite," Percy said. "I don't think you're willing and, honestly, I've given you every reason to be so over the past few years. But I am human Ron; I made a huge mistake and I'd like to change that."

"Damn right you made a huge mistake!" Ron snapped as he uncrossed his arms, fists clenched and trembling. "Fred and George were gone off doing their own thing for the Order, Charlie was off in Romania, Bill in Egypt... all Gin and I had was each other and Mum and Dad! We could have used you there too you know! Mum and Dad were always working and barely had time for us, and that was just at Hogwarts! Home wasn't any better! What, did you think it was easy for us! Coward! Hiding behind the Ministry like that, like some bratty little kid! Didn't you have a spine? You knew the Dark Lord was coming back! You knew! You saw the evidence right in front of your face but you ignored it like the right prat that you are and decided that listening to that stupid bloody idiot Fudge was better than believing your own parents! Than believing Harry!"

Harry and Parvati blinked in the face of Ron's blistering words. Percy looked pale but he was standing there and listening as Ron launched into another round of words. He was thoroughly reaming Percy and, to be honest, he seemed to only be working himself up to full steam. He was yelling and pointing accusing fingers at Percy and giving him death glares all the time. And still Percy was standing there and listening to everything Ron said, even though he looked a touch green at this point.

Finally a brief silence came before Ron spoke once more, his voice hoarse. "Goddamn it Percy, you're human? I'm human too, Ginny's human too. We needed a brother there for us, with us."

Harry glanced at Percy, who looked like he'd been hit with a truck. Ron was standing there, staring pointedly at his feet, hands loose by his side. There was a tense silence now, in which no one really wanted to look at someone else. When Harry heard footsteps moving across the grass, he looked up to find Percy coming to stand closer to Ron.

"I didn't know Ron, I didn't know. And I was a right prat as you said," Percy placed his hands on Ron's shoulders and peered down into his face. "And I'm sorry. But I'll bet Mum and Dad are still as busy as ever. And I'm here now. I'll make the time for you and Ginny. That is, if you'd like."

Ron looked up at Percy before he lowered his eyes once more. "You bleeding idiot; you still ask the dumbest things after someone's done talking."

"Feel better?"

"Loads," Ron said. "You don't have to go back to the Ministry yet, do you? You need to talk to Gin. Someone needs to."

"I was supposed to be back about ten minutes ago. But I'll make a quick Floo call, all right?"

Ron nodded before he looked over at them on the bench. "Can I have a minute alone with you Parv?"

"I have to go inside anyways, need to send off a letter and find something in the library," Harry said rising quickly. "I'll go with you to the school Percy."

Percy nodded his head as they started walking away. Harry only glanced back once and saw that Ron had sat down on the bench and Parvati was now hugging him. He also noted that Ron's arms were wrapped tightly around her. He looked away with a shake of his head. When he glanced at Percy, Harry found his brow furrowed in puzzlement.

"Something wrong?" Harry asked.

"No... it's just that I always thought it would have been Hermione." Percy said finally.

"I used to think that a while ago," Harry mused.

"Used to?"

"Saw something fairly scarring at the time. I've reconciled myself with the idea but it was still very scarring at the time."

"Ah."

They continued walking back to the castle in silence. Once inside Percy bid him farewell and headed up to the Headmaster's office. Harry headed up the Gryffindor common room and borrowed some quill and parchment from Hermione, scribbling off a quick letter. It'd taken him forever to find the right one in the classifieds but he was sure as hell making sure it was his for good. He'd vacated the common room quickly afterwards and made his way down to the dungeons. Sure enough, the Potions classroom door was cracked a bit. He walked in and saw the office door wide open.

"Sir?" he called, knocking on the classroom door as he stepped in.

Snape's head appeared from around the corner. "What are you going to plague me with this time?"

Harry grinned. "Some tea and conversation?"

Snape's head disappeared and the sound of papers being shuffled sounded before Snape's hand appeared in the doorway, waving him in. Harry walked in, noting the few papers scattered on Snape's desk. He sat down in the chair in front of the desk, trying to not grin too much. He really had started to miss Snape's company.

"So, how have you been Sir?" he started.

"Enjoying my peace and quiet since N.E.W.Ts are almost over with," Snape looked at him for a moment. "Surely you have better things to be doing that coming down here to chat."

"Not really. I've finished all my N.E.W.T tests; turns out they all were scheduled in the first few days of the last testing stretch." Harry didn't say anything as a tea set appeared on Snape's desk. "I think I did all right."

Snape grunted as he started fixing two cups of tea. "There will be a graduation ceremony."

Harry knew what Snape was really asking him. He simply shrugged and took the offered cup of tea. "Maybe. I don't know yet. We'll see if I go or not. But there is something I wanted to ask you about Sir."

"That would be what precisely?" Snape asked as he reclined slightly in his seat.

"I've been doing some reading in the library; what can you tell me about wards?"

* * *

There was a buzz among the remaining students in Hogwarts. Everything had finally come to an end. They had their N.E.W.Ts back, and practically everyone was out of the hospital wing. The few remaining students who were stable had been transferred to St. Mungo's. Somehow, the school was fixed and looked brand new, ready to take in the first years in two days time.

Harry was sitting on the edge of his bed in Gryffindor tower, looking at the sunset. It felt kind of odd to see the bright crimson drapery again. Not to mention so bright as well. It just felt odd to be back in the tower even though he wasn't in it for long. He'd been brought back here when he was discharged from the infirmary. There had been a small celebration from the remaining Gryffindors when he walked in. Once the celebrating was winding down, he slipped away and found his bedroom, grabbed his stuff and promptly cleared out. Seamus was still in that room and, judging from the way he was practically glued to Harry's side during the party, keeping a wide berth from the Irish boy was a good idea.

After a moment, he shook his head and looked back down at his trunk. Everything was packed and ready to go. He even had his N.E.W.T reports; a few Exceeds Expectations and a good chunk of Outstandings. It wouldn't be long now before the job offerings were pouring in left right and centre.

As far as he knew, practically everyone had gone down to the Great Hall by now, or was heading there for the graduation ceremony. It was probably going to be long and have a whole smattering of special awards given out. Harry had decided when he woke up this morning that he wouldn't be bothered with it. He had his N.E.W.Ts, he had a vault full of Galleons to live off of until he found work, he didn't have to go back to the Dursleys... why was he going to stick around in a place that was crammed full of his 'admirers'? The last thing he needed was to go to the ceremony and have the spotlight shunted on him once more.

He looked around the room carefully. "All right, packed up everything I have."

And with that he locked his trunk and shrunk it with a flick of his wand before tucking it in his jean pockets and making his way to the doorway. He'd put off going down with Hermione, Ron and Parvati. He knew Ron and Hermione would be pretty mad with what he was doing but he honestly didn't want to take the risk of someone running off to Dumbledore. That would probably have landed him in the Dursleys even sooner.

An empty staircase down greeted him as did an empty common room. The hallway was silent save for the few pictures that milled about, chatting to one another about this and that. He made his way to the courtyard uninterrupted. It wasn't until he reached the junction of the path that someone spoke.

"Just where are you running off to Potter?"

He turned around and found Draco looking at him, arms crossed and dressed in a ceremonial robe.

"Out," he said with a smirk and shrug. "That's not a problem is it?"

"The graduation ceremony is that way," Draco's eyes flickered over him for a moment. "You're not going are you?"

"Why? Be stuck in there for so long and have people fawn over me?" Harry shook his head. "No thanks. Besides, I want to go get settled in."

"Settled in?" Draco's brow furrowed.

"Yeah. Got a nice place in London, close to Diagon Alley," Harry grinned at the look of surprise on Draco's face. "Had a few basics delivered, that sort of thing. I should go and set it all up. That'll take me all evening and I would like a good night's sleep."

"How the hell did you manage that?" Draco demanded after a moment.

"You'd be surprised what you can find if you look through the classifieds hard enough. Got everything settled for a really good price too. Was murder doing it from school. D'you know how much ink and parchment I used? Hedwig was not happy with me."

"So you're just going to up and leave everyone to wonder where you disappeared to?"

Harry could see the amused light of understanding in Draco's eyes, so he raised a finger to his lips. "Don't tell 'Mione and Ron; I'll tell them at the end of the week or so. Hm, for that matter, don't tell Dumbledore if he asks."

"Hmph, like they'd think to ask me." Draco sniffed in disdain. "Merlin, I can just imagine the mess your place will look like."

"What makes you say that?"

Draco's eyes flickered over Harry. "If that's how you dress..."

Harry looked at himself. Boots, jeans and a fitted shirt under a jacket didn't seem so bad. He looked back at Draco and waved a hand in dismissal.

"Who cares?" Harry said. "If it bothers you that much, simply come by later on. I'll send Hedwig with the address once she feels up to flying again."

"You're trusting me with your address?" Draco asked in a teasing tone.

"Well, yeah. I mean, you tried to take on Voldemort yourself. That shows your true colours," Harry grinned. "You'd better get back before Goyle and Crabbe come looking for you, huh?"

"Yeah," Draco made a face. "Thanks for reminding me."

"No problem," Harry said as Draco started back inside. "See you later Malfoy."

"Yeah, yeah Potter."

Harry smiled as he watched Draco walk back inside. That had certainly been unexpected, but Harry couldn't complain exactly. Draco was probably going to go back in there and think nothing of it until he got back home. And maybe, just maybe, he'd tell Lucius about it and let the address slip; just maybe.

He slipped his hands in his jacket pockets and made his way down to Hogsmeade, whistling slightly to himself. He didn't even look back at Hogwarts once.


	27. Chapter 26

A/N: I am sincerely sorry of the wait and I do apologise. I know it's not fun to be reading a fic and then no chapter is posted for what seems like forever. Late November and all of December has been hellish and hectic for me, with midterms, essays, exams, work, Christmas dinners and finally Christmas shopping and just getting my bearings again. Then the first version of this chapter was lost due to the reformatting I had to perform on my computer. However, considering the fact that I wasn't happy with the first version of the chapter and life stepped right in, I took it as a sign. I rewrote it and I'm much happier with it now. Chapters should be posted a bit more regularly come January, say one every three weeks to a month, since I'll only have three courses to deal with rather than five. Never doing that again.

You know the usual. Smut ain't posted here. Posted at foreverfandom, my LJ and my website.

Want to contact me? You have a few options:

furor underscore scribiendi at hotmail dot com (MSN Messenger/Hotmail)  
furor scribiendi (Yahoo ID) I'm not really on  
furor underscore scribiend (it cut off the last 'i') (LJ/Livejournal username)

I don't have AIM any more and I am getting ICQ so I can talk to some friends overseas. Keep your eyes peeled, since I will be getting an ICQ number soon.

So, feel free to drop me a line if you like. Just keep in mind that I am on Eastern Standard Time/ - 5 hours Greenwich Mean Time. So it could be an hour's difference to almost half a day or a day depending on where you are on the globe.

The issue with the formatting for the "Spanish" text has been finally addressed. All Spanish text now has a little dash like so: - . Sorry that it took me so long. I'm pretty sure that I got it all. But if I missed something, please let me know in an e-mail or review.

Sheesh, this A/N is massive enough without replies to reviews. Those are posted in my LJ. Now, read and be happy.

* * *

**_Come the Maëlstrom_**

_Chapter Twenty Six_

Lucius was starting to like mornings again. Just because he rose at an early hour and was used to it didn't necessarily mean that he enjoyed it. There were plenty of times that he would have liked to just stay in bed. But there was something relaxing about dining in the solarium in the morning with a newspaper in hand. Maybe it was that feeling that he was the only one in the house, or even the only person left in England. Or maybe it had something to do with seeing the sunrise and being in a rush to get somewhere. Whatever it was, it was nice. And today, it was made even better by the headline the greeted him as he unfolded the morning paper.

"Fudge to face full inquisition," he mused, eyes flickering over the picture of a nervous looking Fudge.

It would have been a pleasure to get a seat in the gallery to watch this trial but he wasn't so quick to step beyond his front door unnecessarily. He knew perfectly well that the general wizarding populace thought he must have used some underhanded method to get off the hook. Going out in public alone would simply be asking for trouble. And trouble was the last thing that he wanted to invite into his life. He had to behave for the next nine wretched months. So far as he knew, Tonks was his parole officer; she would let some small things slide, and not only because they were related through marriage. He hadn't thought that he would ever befriend someone like Tonks.

He sighed after a few moments and skimmed through the paper quickly before folding it to the second page. Breakfast was waiting for him and he didn't feel much like putting the newspaper down. His usual beverage of steaming earl grey sat there in its teacup, a small stir spoon on the saucer. There was a small glass of apple juice and some slices of kiwi as well today. However, it was the contents in the bowl that made him raise an eyebrow slightly.

"Bwink," he called, still eyeing the bowl.

A pop sound echoed in the room. "Yes Master Lucius? What is it you is wanting?"

"Why am I to dine on oatmeal for breakfast?" he glanced up at the house elf.

Bwink looked a bit nervous. "Master Lucius is not wanting oatmeal? It is good; many strong wizards eat oatmeal for breakfast,"

Lucius didn't say anything as Bwink started pulling on her fingers. He could actually see the bony little knuckles stretch and a small depression of skin form where there was a space. He sighed and closed his eyes.

"That is the last time you will ever be evasive with me, am I understood?"

Bwink nodded her head even as her eyes grew fearful. "Yes Mater Lucius, you is understood."

"Now then," he began slowly. "Why am I looking at this repulsive meal?"

Bwink opened her mouth but a terrified squeak came out. Lucius rubbed his forehead, as the squeak became a wail. How wonderful, he got to deal with house elf histrionics at this hour of the morning. When the sound of feet running came, he opened his eyes and saw Bwink running towards the single inlaid table with the eight books piled on top. The table that had been there since the manor was founded. And now some house elf was running towards it with the explicit purpose of badgering themselves on it. He was vaguely aware of the surge of anger that ran through him.

"Stop!" he barked, half rising from his seat, arm outstretched.

Bwink had halted mid-step and thumped right to the floor, still in a running posture. Lucius blinked and walked over. Bwink's eyes were darting around, as if she could somehow free herself from it. Lucius crouched down and poked at her. She was completely Petrified. He looked at his hand in puzzlement before he frowned. Just how was he supposed to undo this bit of accidental wandless magic?

As if in some twisted form of divine response, a loud knock came on the solarium door. He looked at it in surprise for a moment before he rose and went to the door. Draco was standing on the other side when he opened it. His son did not look very pleased about something in the slightest. Draco muttered something about needing to talk and attempted to push his way in but Lucius simply pivoted on his foot. His shoulder connected a bit forcibly with Draco's chest.

"What?" Draco looked up in irritation. "Don't tell me you actually have Severus in there."

Lucius scowled. "I didn't know my son was partial to Witch Weekly."

Draco's face flushed at that. "I'm not. Look, would you just let me in? We need to talk. About a few things actually."

"All right," Lucius said as he stepped aside. "But make sure you remove your shoes."

"Remove my shoes?" Draco laughed. "Why should I when you don't…"

Lucius simply smirked as Draco looked down and was greeted by the sight of Lucius' socked feet. Lucius entertained the thought of making Draco stick his foot into his mouth, but dismissed it a second later. This was a prime opportunity of actually getting to know his son. Salazar knew they knew virtually nothing about one another. He watched as Draco removed his shoes and stepped into the room hesitantly. Lucius closed the door behind him.

"I didn't know there was a solarium," Draco said after a moment. "It's nicely done. Who's the decorator?"

"Me," Lucius replied easily as he gestured to the table. "You wanted to talk about some things?"

Draco made a small sound of agreement in the back of his throat. They walked to the table and sat down. Lucius eyed the oatmeal with distaste and pushed it off to the side in favour of the kiwi and coffee. He had just speared a slice of the green, black seeded fruit with a fork when Draco spoke.

"Since when did you take to petrifying the house elves Father?"

Oh yes, Bwink. Lucius frowned. "Since that particular house elf was about to injure itself on an antique family crest table."

"Ah. Aren't you going to unpetrify it? I'd certainly like some breakfast."

"With what wand?" Lucius asked archly.

Draco frowned. "Then how did you petrify it?"

"Accidental, I assure you. I don't need to be casting magic and having those idiots dragging me in on the smallest thing.

Draco gave him a peculiar look but drew his wand and unpetrified Bwink. The house elf collapsed to the floor with a choked sob. She picked herself up, looking around in confusion. But the moment she laid eyes on Lucius, she wailed and darted to his feet, grovelling there and pulling on her ears.

"Bwink is sorry Master Lucius! Kitchen elves only told Bwink this morning! Bwink didn'ts know! Bwink didn'ts know what to do! Bwink didn'ts want to disturb Master Lucius or Master Draco! Bwink is a bad house elf! Bwink didn'ts know what else to have the kitchen elves make for Master Lucius' breakfast!"

Lucius sighed heavily as Bwink continued on. Draco was giving him an amused look.

"Bwink, all I wanted to know was why I even had to look at oatmeal, much less eat it. Explain."

"The kitchen elves is having very little to cook with." Bwink wailed.

"You mean there's nothing in the kitchen?" Lucius asked as his brow furrowed.

Bwink sniffled with a nasty choking sound and nodded her head frantically, hands flopping about with her ears. "Mistress used to take care of that. But since Mistress has been gone, we wasn't knowing what to do."

That certainly was a surprise. Lucius was surprised this didn't arise sooner. "Do you mean to tell me that we've been going through the pantry all this time?"

"Yes Master Lucius. That is what we'ves been doing. House elves isn't supposed to be making decisions for Master."

He frowned for a moment. "I'll look after it later," he waved a hand in dismissal.

Bwink disappeared with a brisk 'pop' and almost immediately, a badly masked snicker came from Draco. There was a straight expression on his son's face when he looked over. But there were telltale curves at the corners of his mouth. Lucius pursed his lips together slightly.

"I daresay you'll be laughing sooner or later," he picked up his teacup. "So there's not much point in hiding it from me."

The expression now on Draco's face was priceless. It was torn between shock and mirth. After what seemed like a long while, he cleared his throat and smoothed an imaginary wrinkle from his shirt. Lucius regarded him as he took a sip of his tea.

"I wanted to discuss Professor Snape."

"What about?" Lucius asked after a very long moment.

"Well, it's not so much discuss as it is stating something," Draco began slowly, as if contemplating something. "Just so long as I don't walk in on you and him in the middle of something."

Nothing was said for a long moment as Lucius regarded Draco. He placed his teacup down slowly and then turned his attention to the kiwi with a slight frown.

"Blast Narcissa," he muttered under his breath.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Your dear mother is probably the reason why half the wizarding world is convinced that Severus is in my bed."

Draco's brow furrowed. "He isn't?"

"Certainly not," Lucius said before making a slice of kiwi disappear quickly. "While he is an excellent friend, he isn't what I want."

"You know, you usually follow that up with 'in a lover'," Draco's eyes became a bit steelier. "So who's your latest conquest? Or rather, how did you manage it in all this commotion?"

Lucius simply gave an enigmatic shrug and ate a bit more kiwi. Draco watched him for a long moment. When it became apparent that Lucius wasn't about to say any more on that subject, Draco simply shrugged his shoulders. Lucius was thankful that he used silences as answers. He had a feeling that Draco wouldn't take the fact that Harry was his new 'conquest' very well.

"I thought you'd like to know that I'll be staying at home for another year."

"Really?"

Draco nodded. "Learn some Italian."

"Italian," Lucius looked at him for a long moment. "And precisely when are you going to Italy next year?"

"Next December," Draco replied a bit absently. "Blaise has an uncle there. He's going to take over the family business. We're taking the year to prepare so it won't be an awkward move."

"And that would be?"

"Wandmaker. Boccacio Wands."

"Ah," Lucius had no qualm with that; Boccacio Wands was highly respected and was the Italian equivalent of Ollivander's. "I see."

"It doesn't bother you that I'll be moving to Italy?" Draco's brow furrowed.

"Why should it?" Lucius shrugged. "You seem to have thought it out thoroughly. Learning Italian won't pose much of a problem. And I trust you'll be finding a respectable job once there,"

Draco nodded his head.

"Besides," Lucius continued. "You're an adult. You don't need anyone to perform your spells for you."

Draco didn't say anything for a long moment, simply watching Lucius. Then he chuckled lightly. "A year ago, your response would have been so very different. Whatever happened to you when you vanished away must have been something good."

Lucius didn't say anything for a moment. "And I suppose Dumbledore felt it necessary for you to know?"

"Said it was my right to know as your son," Draco snorted. "Maybe the old coot was right. It certainly gave me some leverage with Mother."

Lucius arched an eyebrow in question. Draco stared at him incredulously.

"Do you mean to tell me you didn't know the nature of my relationship with Mother?"

"I highly doubt there was much love lost there."

"That's putting it mildly. It was always manipulation with her. I didn't like it much but now that I think about it, maybe it was a good thing that you were so distant before. It might have been worse, being pulled in two directions."

"And what makes you think I would have manipulated you?"

"You can sit there and truthfully say that you wouldn't have?"

"Perhaps, perhaps not; it all depends on the situation and the level of discretion required."

Draco didn't say anything for a long moment. "You know, you're not exactly helping the distant sonofabitch father who's easy to loathe image I had in mind."

"What have I constantly told you about assumptions?" Lucius murmured as he picked up his teacup once more.

"Not to make them," Draco said with a shrug. "But I would advise you to heed your own advice them."

"Why?"

"Potter might be coming around for a visit sometime next week."

A snort came from Lucius' throat but it conflicted with the tea that was sliding down at that precise moment. He coughed harshly for a few seconds, face going a bit red. Once he managed to clear his windpipe, he looked up at Draco.

"What?" he spat out, wiping at his mouth with the folded napkin.

"Potter might be coming around for a visit," Draco repeated. "I did mention that we had some sort of truce going. Only it's official now. I suppose we're friends. I don't know and I can't be bothered to define it clearly."

"Harry," he began. "Harry Potter," he added on with out a break. "Visiting here?"

"Yes." Draco said. "We've exchanged a few owls. Blaise and I visited his flat a few times now. It's only fair that he come to visit here."

Lucius didn't' say anything but arched an eyebrow.

"Don't tell me you hold a grudge against Potter. Surely you didn't want to be the Dark Lord's lapdog your entire life Father."

A scowl came to Lucius face. He certainly didn't want to be and was certainly glad the mouldering old megalomaniac was dead. But he was fairly sure that he didn't want Harry over here. Not yet anyhow. It would probably be a touch too hard to keep their hands off one another for a little while after being apart for so long. And being caught together was bound to land him back in the courtroom under the accusation of rape by Imperio, despite him not having a wand yet. Or it would be some other foolish accusation that would simply serve to tarnish him further.

"It's your house as well," Lucius said finally. "You can invite in who you wish."

"You're taking this awfully well. If it was Mother, she probably would have had a few Kneazles by now about some things."

"Your mother was always prone to histrionics," Lucius sneered. "But if you want to invite Potter, why should I stop you? You'd undoubtedly find some other way to sneak him into the house. This way there won't be any nasty surprises."

Draco nodded his head. "Of course Father; Potter's the only one I'm inviting. Not the Mudblood or Weasel."

"Hrm," Lucius mused. "I wonder if –"

His words were cut off by the 'pop' sound of Bwink appearing in the room. Lucius frowned and turned to face the house elf.

"First oatmeal for breakfast, and now you're back to plague me once more. What is it?"

"Mistress Nymphadora and Master Valerian are here Master Lucius." Bwink said softly.

Lucius nodded his head and waved a hand in dismissal. "It never bloody well ends."

"I'll say," Draco looked genuinely amused. "You get to go grocery shopping as well."

Lucius frowned at Draco momentarily before he rose from his seat and slipped on a pair of shoes. "Feel free to have the oatmeal if you absolutely starving."

He chuckled lightly at the whispered curse that left Draco's mouth. He made his way from the solarium and out into the main foyer quickly. There was Valerian and Tonks talking about something animatedly. He slowed his steps until they couldn't be heard at all. They hadn't even noticed him. In fact, he wasn't noticed until he cleared his throat and loudly at that. They both turned and looked at him blankly for a moment before Valerian shook his head.

"Lucius will not like that." He muttered with a look at Tonks.

"Yeah, well, it's not like he has a choice in the matter. Either he does it or he goes without one." Tonks replied, catching Valerian's attention once more.

"This is ludicrous! It's blatant infringement upon his rights! There is no need for him to –"

"Um, hello!" Tonks gave Valerian an incredulous look. "You know the meaning of the word 'parole'? Meaning conditional release. He has to behave, which he has been doing so far! Quite frankly, I'm surprised he hasn't killed a few wizards by now! Have you seen the garbage that Witch Weekly has been publishing? Not to mention everything else that has been flying about?!" Tonks screwed up her face and changed her features to one of a vapid beauty. "I slept with Lucius Malfoy," she crowed in a tinny voice. "It was the best sex of my life but he dumped me for that harlot Severus Snape! Now, I'm running to Witch Weekly in a Galleon grab!"

Valerian sighed and rubbed his temples lightly. "Yes, I am quite aware of that. If anything that's what lawsuits are for."

"How nice to see you advocate a libellous population," Tonks scoffed before she screwed up her face and her features returned to normal. "That's just what the judicial system needs, a flood of petty grievances." Tonks snorted.

"We can get into this later on," Valerian pressed his fingers hard against his temples and rubbed. "Right now, I have a client to see and I have a headache the size of a flock of Augreys and I haven't been able to stop off at the apothecary's."

"I'm sure I have something for that headache of yours." Lucius mused dryly.

Both Tonks and Valerian faced him in blank surprise once more. Lucius gave a snort and rolled his eyes. Honestly, they had looked right at him before. How could they forget he was in the same area as them so easily, not that the fact really mattered at this point.

"And to what do I owe this visit?" he asked.

"A few uptight judges who had every right to 'ensure the safety' of your parole officer and the general public." Valerian said in a disgusted tone.

"Oh don't get started," Tonks said in a warning tone. "I know you have a headache but taking a pissy attitude won't help one bit. Even I didn't like this! And I'm the one who has to go through it all. You're here because I contacted you."

"Yes, I know," Valerian said wearily. "Because –"

"Merlin forbid that Lucius Malfoy should be running around unregistered during his parole sentence." Tonks finished in an equally displeased voice. "And that a judge could work in some clause that could cause him some trouble, let alone a few."

"Do you realise you two have a very nasty habit of referring to me in the third person? I am right here." Lucius said in a flat tone

"Sorry," Tonks said, her face flushing red. "It's been a few long days for the both of us. Apparently."

Lucius arched an eyebrow at Tonks' rather abrupt addendum but shrugged it off after a moment. "So, the purpose of this visit is?"

"All three of us will be taking a trip to Diagon Alley, immediately. You will be going to Ollivander's to buy a wand. Then we're coming back here. You and Valerian have some paperwork to look over. And once that's done, you have to sign a document binding your use of magic for the duration of your parole sentence."

Nothing was said as Valerian gave Tonks a sympathetic look. The expression on the Auror's face did not match her cheery neon orange hair. She looked absolutely livid and disgusted. It seemed a bit hypocritical in light of how she was chiding Valerian but he wasn't in a position to complain about the judicial system. So if someone felt like doing so in light of what was happening to him, so be it. He wasn't about to stop it.

"So I am to assume that Valerian is here in order to make sure they don't bind my arms legally?"

Tonks nodded. "We haven't been getting any reports of activity from those rogue Death Eaters. We figure they're lying low and trying to find the right time to make their move. You'll just be screwed over if they kidnap you and you can't use magic because some idiot judge didn't deem it 'safe'."

Lucius hadn't thought Tonks could have a fearsome scowl. "Well, since you've planned the itinerary so well, allow me a moment to fetch a cloak and cane and then we'll be off."

Valerian and Tonks nodded as he walked off to the cloak closet and slipped into his usual travelling cloak. After a moment's thought he decided to forgo the cane. Any sign of humility would be useful, no matter how small it was. He made his way back, to find Tonks and Valerian glancing at one another with furrowed brows.

"And what is the issue now?" he looked between them.

"Nothing," Valerian said hastily as he made his way to the Floo fireplace. "I'll go first and meet you both at the Leaky Cauldron."

And with that he was gone in a burst of words and green flame. Valerian was never hasty with words. Lucius watched the hearth for a moment before he looked at Tonks.

"Don't even ask," Tonks said before Lucius could say a word. "C'mon. Fireplace, Leaky Cauldron."

Lucius nodded his head but he grasped a handful of Floo Powder slowly. "If I may ask something, Nymphadora?"

"Look, I have very little nerve today. And you just cut it down to a bare sliver. If you _ever_ call me by my full name again, I'll castrate you myself with a rusty butter knife."

He had no doubt that she would do that but he blithely ignored her threat. "If we could make one small stop elsewhere?"

"Where?" Tonks grumbled.

"The grocer." Lucius said after taking a deep breath.

"You have to go grocery shopping? I thought you had everything delivered."

"Apparently not since my dear ex-wife fled into hiding. The house elves only informed me this morning."

"Fine," Tonks sighed. "You know what you need, right?"

"If by that you mean have I never been to a grocer's before…"

He trailed off deliberately as Tonks stared at him in utter disbelief. Then she shook her head, pushed him into the fireplace and squeezed in beside him.

"Seriously, they are _not_ paying me enough for this job."

* * *

The past week was not pleasant. The grocery trip to Diagon Alley hadn't been fun to say the least. Lucius had to go to six different grocers before he found one that was willing to take him on a client. So long as he didn't have to look at oatmeal again, he considered it a small price to pay. He also graciously ignored the fact that the grocer was charging highly exorbitant prices. But again, Lucius wasn't in a position to complain. The sooner this wretched parole of his was over, the better with for him. 

Once he'd gotten the wand, he'd been required to cast his signature on the legal paperwork. That was the simple part. The second his signature appeared, he could feel it taking effect and dampening his magic. The only catch about magical contracts was that they were immediate. He'd spent a good week practising with it, just getting a feel for it. The smooth dark walnut wood was warm in the sunlight and was a sheer pleasure to hold. The core of thestral hair had very wide channels and casting magic seemed effortless, like it was something he didn't even have to focus on. And that's how it had been until Tonks had come stomping in the following Monday with a black look on her face.

After a cup of tea in the parlour and some subtle coaxing words, he found out the reason for her vexation. Every charm he cast had left a record on her desk. And he had apparently flooded her desk all week and stressed her out. Trust the judicial system to suck the joy out of something innately natural and pleasing to a wizard. So after promising to not use magic beyond necessary, he sent her off and spent a good amount of time snarling to himself about a few idiots still remaining in power. He had just gotten a new wand. Of course he was going to try it out. What did they think he was going to do with it; use it as an overpriced paperweight?

Then there had been the mishap in the kitchen that almost resulted in him giving a house elf a complete set of clothes. The elf became so distraught at the mere mention of clothes that they started blubbering and begging to not be dismissed in such a shameful fashion. Lucius had simply agreed in order to shut the elf up; the blubbering was deafening and not to mention irritating as hell.

The only bright spots to the time spent at home were the visits from Valerian and Tonks every day and what seemed to be becoming regular dinners spent with Draco's company. He was slowly starting to know his son more than before. Just a few days ago, he learned that Draco had taken a liking to fantasy. Apparently Harry loaned him some books that were rife with sex, murder, political intrigue, incest, cursing, dragons, undead zombies, massive direwolves, and what sounded like a bunch of hot men running around and contributing in some manner to something or other. He'd vaguely heard something of a deposed family attempting to reclaim a throne and something about twins and sex before Draco had lost him. Lucius was starting to think he would have to read those books some time. If anything, just to understand what Draco was prattling on madly about. And just what had Harry so engrossed back in Spain.

At the moment, he was sitting in the solarium, stretched out on some blankets with some pillows cushioning his back; it was a late Sunday morning and he intended to relax as much as possible. He was reading the newspaper and was feeling quite content. When the solarium door creaked opened, slowly he frowned slightly and ignored it. The person was bound to leave once they realised Lucius was intent on ignoring them. He heard the door close with a gentle click but he didn't hear the sound of feet walking away on the hardwood floor on the other side of the door. No, he heard the sound of someone removing shoes quietly and then nothing.

"All right," he began, resting the paper on his knees to look at the person. "Just what do you…"

He trailed off in shock as he found himself looking at Harry. The brunette was frozen mid-stride, headed towards Lucius, with a growing grin on his face. Lucius, on the other hand, was staring at Harry in disbelief. His brain was attempting to convince itself that what it was seeing was real. That it was Harry now standing there, relaxed and grinning like a mad fool with his hands shoved in his pockets.

"How did you get in here?" he blurted out. Almost immediately, he wished he had said anything else.

"Draco gave me a Portkey. He didn't want to bother fiddling with the wards," Harry rocked on his feet a bit. "I was supposed to visit him today but he doesn't seem to be here."

"No, he isn't here," Lucius said, shutting the newspaper and folding it up neatly. "He's gone to Italy with Blaise for the day. They'll be back later on tonight."

"Guess he got the days mixed up then. Though I can't complain about his faux pas."

"Faux pas?" Lucius looked at him incredulously; it seemed a bit odd hearing French come from Harry's tongue.

"Draco's attempting to 'civilise' me. According to him, I'll be a proper wizard one day yet, with much better manners and all. Not to mention much less crazy and free from that terrible tendency to rush into things."

"I imagine," Lucius mused dryly.

Harry smiled and made his way over to Lucius' side before he settled down beside him. Lucius couldn't look away from him at all.

"I suppose it's his way of getting me back. After all, I got him hooked on that Muggle book."

Lucius' lip quirked at that. "Yes I know; I suffered a very long plot synopsis during dinner on Saturday."

He took a slow deep breath and realised that wasn't a brilliant idea. Faint drafts of Harry's cologne reached his nose. It only seemed to accent the fact that Harry was in his manor, sitting right beside him and was just there. Someone who was probably going through the same things that he was at the moment.

"So, how have you been?" Harry asked, tilting his head slightly.

"I'm quite sure Draco may have filled you in."

Harry chuckled. "He has. Apparently you've been acting differently. He prefers it but he's not too sure."

"He seems to be getting used to it," Lucius said quietly; suddenly his tongue stuck to the floor of his mouth and he felt flushed. "You?"

"I met Ron and 'Mione for lunch a few days ago and told then where I was. They tore a right strip out of me. But I had to wait so long. There was no way they're dislodging me from my flat now. Want to hear the funny part?"

"And that would be?"

"They said Dumbledore was concerned about the safety of where I was. According to them, he feels that I should consider moving in with the Dursleys; that might be safer for me. More protection apparently."

"Yes, because we all know they only have your best interests at heart." Lucius snorted with dry amusement.

Harry was still smiling. "Lucius?"

"Yes?"

"Would you like to go out sometime?"

Lucius' brow furrowed immediately.

"No, not in the wizarding world but Muggle London. I'm tired of sitting around the house all day. I shouldn't have to fear going outside. And neither should you."

"So long as I don't have to use magic in any form."

"You can't use magic?"

"I can but very sparingly. They're tracking my usage and Tonks is my parole officer. When I first got my wand, I was casting spells and charms with abandon. Have you ever seen an angry Tonks?"

"No, I can't say that I have."

"Fortunate soul. She doesn't cope too well with paperwork."

Harry chuckled as he rested against Lucius' shoulder. "Merlin, I've missed you."

"As have I." Lucius' arm crept around Harry's shoulder. He'd said the words quietly as if someone else just might hear the admission.

"Your parole is nine months, right?"

"Yes. I don't see it lessening in the future any time."

"Hm."

"Hm?"

"I was thinking about travelling," Harry said after a long moment. "Go see the world. Settle down somewhere else other than here. Anywhere else has to be better than here."

"I concur," Lucius replied softly.

"Come with me?"

Lucius didn't say anything for a long moment. That wasn't such a bad idea. There were Malfoy properties all over the world, bought at one time or another. It would be the perfect escape. If he could hold out for nine months and ignore whatever protest came that he was simply fleeing from the crimes that he committed. But the last thing he would tolerate was any more slander against his name, and leaving the country would give the journalists a field day.

"Lucius?" Harry looked up at him.

"I don't know." Lucius murmured in a thoroughly conflicted tone.

"Say yes."

Harry had propped himself up on one arm and was peering into Lucius' face intently. Lucius didn't say anything and, after a minute, Harry's expression darkened.

"Forget what everyone else might say. You'll never leave England if you don't. They'll always have something against you. And they'll always idolise me. Let's just leave it all behind us."

A part of Lucius wanted to listen to Harry's words and just agree, and throw all reason out the door. But he couldn't just leave a trail for some one to potentially follow him. If he left, he would be leaving for good. Maybe he could transfer the properties to Draco's name only but still retain ownership. Plus he had thought about only summering in England before. Why not make that a reality and go somewhere that he could be with Harry?

But nothing was ever that simple. And he had so many people watching his steps now. He knew of no way to throw them off and make sure that they never found them again. It would be just as difficult for Harry since he was so much a public figure. Albeit reluctant, unwilling even, but still a public figure. If he wanted to vanish, it would take some very skilful manoeuvring.

"Lucius…" Harry murmured as he shifted and angled his head upwards. "Say yes…"

Lucius could feel Harry's breath moving across his face like a ghostly caress. His lips tightened as he attempted to ignore Harry's pleas and focus on the question at hand. But Harry was pressing his body closer gradually. It didn't help Lucius' concentration as Harry slid his body up against Lucius. When he glanced down, he found Harry simply looking at him. This was the second time in his life that Lucius was struck by the feeling that he couldn't quite breathe properly. Harry shifted, sitting up and sliding a hand around Lucius' neck.

"Come with me Luc. We'll get away from it all for awhile. It'll be like Spain, but with only the two of us. No one else."

Lucius closed his eyes and didn't say anything as Harry rested their foreheads together. The silence was all that lay between them for a long time. It was even longer before Lucius opened his mouth to speak. The only problem was that he couldn't hear any words come out. He felt Harry draw away and he opened his eyes to find Harry looking at him a bit anxiously.

"Lucius?"

Then it suddenly seemed like his tongue managed to move and form coherent sounds. "I will."

"Are you sure?" Harry's brows furrowed slightly. "You still seem a bit unsure."

"I'm sure," Lucius said. "Once my parole is over, we'll leave. Go somewhere else. Anywhere else."

Harry smiled and kissed Lucius gently. "I thought you might like that."

"Is that the only reason why you asked me?"

"It would be rude of me if I just up and vanished," Harry said as he settled against Lucius once more. "Though it would certainly make things a bit easier."

"Things?" Lucius asked, running his fingers through the ends of Harry's hair.

"Yeah. Like Dumbledore constantly trying to get me to go back to the Dursleys, making sure that no one gets the bright idea to follow me back to my flat. And not to mention all the bloody owls."

"Surely it can't be that bad."

"Well, not the ones that are job offers," Harry grumbled. "It's the other ones I'm starting to get sick of. Do you know how many witches keep writing to ask me if I would marry them? If there's no company name, I just burn the letters from people I don't know."

"You burn things in your flat?"

"It comes with a fireplace. It's really nice. You should come by for a bit before we leave." Harry said.

Lucius chuckled as Harry shifted and rested his head in Lucius' lap. "Why don't you tell me about your flat?"

"Well, it's a little condo in a building on third floor. Actually, condo isn't precisely the right word. A loft is more like it. I figured I would buy myself a nice place with the money I did have. Two levels, hardwood floors and rugs with lots of space and windows. There's a fireplace in the bedroom and living room. I had to get a traditional one installed in the living room for Flooing. I just told the previous owner I was eccentric."

"I can just imagine how that went over." Lucius mused dryly.

"He thought I really was," Harry grinned. "But since I was buying the place, he didn't protest much. It is a great little place. But being cooped up all day for a few days straight… it's even worse when you don't know what you're going to do or what you have to look forward to."

"Don't fret," Lucius soothed as he petted Harry's hair. "I'm sure you'll find something adequately enjoyable in the Muggle world for us to do."

"How does theatre sound? Symphony?" Harry frowned as he thought. "A soccer game? Or maybe a movie?"

"And what, pray tell, is a movie?"

"Meaning, you know what the others are," Harry mused. "We'll go see a movie. A movie is… hrm, never had to explain it before. Ron asked once, but 'Mione told him. She did a much better job. You'll probably like it. I'll try to find a good one that we can watch."

"A good one?"

"They can make some really bad ones," Harry said with a shrug. "You can go back to reading your newspaper, you know. I didn't mean to make you stop."

"No, I think you meant to ambush me." Lucius smirked as he reached for the folded newspaper.

"Yes, and you just had to go and ruin my fun."

And with that Harry screwed up his face and stuck his tongue out at him. Lucius watched him, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly. Then he briskly snapped out the paper and started reading. The only sound that filled the room now was that of breathing, the pages of paper turning and Lucius' slight sounds of approval or disapproval as he read through the articles. When he finally finished and folded up the paper, he found that Harry was fast asleep, hands folded over his chest. Lucius placed it beside him and looked down at Harry. He smiled and brushed aside a lock of Harry's hair. Then he bent down to press a kiss against his forehead.

"You know," Harry quipped as he cracked open an eye. "I think you missed the mark this time."

Lucius gave a snort; so much for being asleep. "Have I?"

"Yes," Harry smirked. "If you bend back down, I'll show you where you _should_ have kissed me."

Lucius couldn't help but smile as he bent down once more. Harry's hand curled around his neck, fingers playing with the fine hairs there. Lucius brushed his lips against Harry's for a moment before kissing him. He felt the momentary flicker of a smile on Harry's lips before he was kissed back. He drew back a few moments later and found Harry smiling up at him with closed eyes.

"I've really missed you Lucius," he murmured as he opened his eyes lazily. "Now, do you spend all your time in this room or are you going to show me around."

"You sound like you're planning to move in." Lucius snorted as he pushed Harry's head from his lap and rose.

"You make it sound like a bad thing," Harry mused as he stood as well and stretched lazily. "How long will showing me around take?"

"I planned on showing you a much condensed tour of the house," Lucius murmured, pulling Harry in closer and nuzzling his neck. "But I can think of a much better way to spend the day…"

"Oh hell, just skip the tour then."

* * *

The late afternoon sunlight slanted in through opaque curtains, casting a dull green glow in the bedroom. The night table on the bed held two wands and one pair of glasses. On the bed were two figures. The covers were mussed up and they lay curled around one another, stroking skin lazily; the entire day had been spent talking, relaxing and with slow, tender sex. They had just come out of the shower and curled up on the bed to dry off. Harry wasn't too sure what it was about Lucius that made him feel calm inside. All the stress and agitation that had been building up inside him disappeared the moment he was Lucius again. The only thing he was sure of was the feeling that welled up inside. Of course, that could simply be the post-coital afterglow talking, but he did feel that way.

"Harry." Lucius said quietly, disrupting Harry's thoughts.

"Mmmhm?"

"You said you wanted to travel. How would you feel about living overseas? Somewhere other than England?"

Harry blinked but didn't reply, a slight furrow coming to his brow. Sure he wanted his privacy but he figured becoming something of a recluse would do the trick. Uprooting his life to start over in another country seemed rather drastic. But so did the decision to become a recluse.

Lucius' arms tightened around him slightly. "You don't have to answer right away; take some time to think about it."

"No, don't worry. I was thinking about it. I mean, I seriously hadn't thought of that option before," he shifted and propped his head up on a pillow. "If I did move overseas, I think the only thing I would have to worry about would be my name popping up in a textbook occasionally."

"Ah, the fickle degrees of fame," Lucius gave a lazy smile.

Harry smiled and scooted in closer and rested his head on Lucius' chest. He took a deep breath and listened to the sound of Lucius' heart beating.

"I wish you didn't have that stupid parole," he murmured a few minutes later. "We could leave right now."

"After you just bought a place?" Lucius asked in mild surprise.

"It's not like I've been living there for long," Harry said a bit defensively as he reached for Lucius' other hand and linked their fingers. "Besides, having more than one place might be a good idea."

"A few places around the globe, I daresay?"

"That's a great idea!" Harry sat up eagerly. "I thought a few places in one country, but we could have one in Spain and a few in other countries that no one would think to look for us! Like… um… well, somewhere! We can go look at some places when we travel!"

"While it is prudent to think ahead, maybe it would be better to wait until things settle down and it becomes quite clear that I have no intent on breaking my parole."

Harry didn't say anything for a long moment. "You can't leave the country can you?"

"Not until my parole is up."

"This blows." Harry pronounced and flopped back against the pillow.

"I know you're eager to leave," Lucius began as he propped himself up on one elbow. "But maybe you should think about staying in England for a bit longer, at least until winter or spring."

"Your parole won't be over by then. It won't be until the summer of next year." Harry protested. "And –"

"And I do believe you're fretting far too much," Lucius replied firmly as he leaned in. "Besides, I can think of something much better to blow."

"Shouldn't that have been some subtle comment rather than something blatant?" Harry asked with a silly grin spreading across his face.

"I could have been," Lucius said with a salacious gleam in his eye. "But it's enjoyable to make you wonder sometimes."

"Uh huh," Harry glanced down at Lucius' cock and found it half hard already. "Sheesh, you don't waste time."

"You make efficiency sound like such a bad thing." Lucius mused.

Harry snickered and leaned in to kiss Lucius. Lucius smiled against his lips for a moment before giving him an open mouthed kiss. Harry gave a soft groan as Lucius' hand cupped his head. He managed to manoeuvre Lucius back down against the pillows. He kicked against the linens as they got in his way. After a few futile kicks that simply tangled his feet, he snorted and pulled them up to his waist. Lucius looked at him with an eyebrow arched.

"They were getting in the way," Harry explained. "Besides, my ass was getting a bit cold."

Lucius gave an amused snort but pulled Harry back down in for a kiss. Harry was happily obliging, and rubbing his own hardening cock against Lucius' when a loud bang made him break off and grab for his wand and glasses on the bedside table. He didn't know who on Earth that was but he would –

"Father? Potter?! What the hell?!?!"

Harry scrambled for his glasses and slid them on to find himself facing one very livid Draco and shocked Blaise. And right behind him was Valerian, Tonks and some woman who looked absolutely flabbergasted. Remus on the other hand, looked distinctly uncomfortable, as if the room stank. Harry supposed it did, since he and Lucius spent the better part of a day shagging in here. He sat up, pulling the sheets closer to him, vaguely noting that Lucius did the same as well. And then he remembered why he had been feeling a bit uneasy to begin with. Lucius had said that Draco would be coming back later on _tonight_, not tomorrow or the like; in other words, a fairly specific time frame. He glanced back at Lucius and then at the small clock that was on the bedside table. The hands were pointing to 'Dinner'; bloody hell, they should have seen this coming and avoided it.

He stared at the sheets. "Fuck." He muttered.

"Fuck, indeed." Lucius murmured.


	28. Chapter 27

_**Come the Maëlstrom**_

_Chapter Twenty Seven_

Severus knew he had virtually no right to feel this way. Everything was finally going right in his life. He still had a good job, was due for a much needed vacation after one more school term. Hell, he even had someone who was very interested in him. And, by all rights, he should have been paying attention to what she was saying to him at the moment. But his mind was elsewhere.

He knew something was wrong when Lucius didn't even send him an owl after receiving his verdict. The elder Malfoy had looked momentarily perplexed when Severus had taken the stand and spoken in his defence. What Severus was expecting was a letter demanding to know what he wanted in return. But no such letter had come. There was just an unusual silence that had made him more and more uneasy with each day that passed, and it had been a few days already.

"Severus, are you all right?"

Hermione's voice startled him and he looked up. She had a slightly worried expression on her face and her food was barely touched. He sighed and looked to find his own plate in a similar condition. They had been talking for awhile before he had drifted off. If they weren't going to eat, why on earth had he brought her to a restaurant? It seemed like tonight was going to be one of those nights when he ended up regretting something.

"Severus?" her voice sounded more anxious as she reached over and placed her hand on his. "What's wrong?"

"Lucius…" he murmured as he frowned.

"What about Lucius?"

"He hasn't demanded anything of me."

Now complete confusion came to Hermione's face. "Huh? I'm afraid you've lost me."

"He hasn't asked for anything since I testified for him…" Severus frowned. "I haven't heard from him at all. It's as if he vanished from the face of the earth."

Hermione made a sympathetic sound. "Harry's been acting like that as well. We saw him once since he up and left Hogwarts and that's the end of it, nothing more. Maybe we were too harsh with him."

"I highly doubt that. He's probably planning something perhaps…" Severus mused.

"Would you like to go check up on Lucius then?"

Severus looked at Hermione in surprise. "Surely you aren't referring to right now."

"Yes I am. I know you're trying for my sake, but if this is preoccupying you so much, it's better if you take the time to ease your anxiety. We'll have better dates than this one."

"And you'll want to stop in and see Potter afterwards?"

"No. He made it perfectly clear that he needs space of some sort. I can understand that. I had a devil of a time explaining it to Ron though."

"Hm," Severus snorted. "You're sure you don't mind?"

"Of course not. I'll still be here when you get back."

"I beg your pardon?"

Hermione blinked and then chuckled. "You expected me to go with you? To Lucius Malfoy's manor? Don't be silly, the man hates me. I distinctly remember that day in Flourish and Blotts. I intend to stay as far away from him as possible." Hermione snorted and took a drink of her water. "I'll be right here when you come back."

"You suggested this in the first place. And there is no way that I am leaving you here on your own," Severus glowered at her.

"Well, I'm perfectly comfortable right here."

Severus took a deep breath. Harry had asked one simple thing of him. Simply whisk Hermione off her feet and nothing more. He had been doing a good job but now it threatened to collapse into shambles around his feet now. The bloody girl had suggested this in the first place. But surely she didn't expect him to leave her here alone until he got back. That was nothing short of churlish. And if this was another one of her tests, then he wasn't about to bloody well fail. After a moment of thought, he signalled over the waiter and had their dinner packaged to go and discreetly paid.

"May I ask just what you are doing?" Hermione demanded when her dinner vanished.

"I am not leaving you alone," Severus said curtly. Their dinner reappeared on the table, neatly packaged in containers and bagged. He grabbed them both and rose, offering his hand. "And you are most certainly coming with me. If Lucius utters one slur against you, he can face my wand. Besides, it's not like we were eating much anyway."

"The conversation was excellent until you started tuning me out," Hermione said with a small smile as she took his hand and rose. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you would have carried me out of here over your shoulder."

"We're not a married couple." He grumbled as they walked to the door

"Of course not." Hermione replied demurely.

Severus gave her a sharp look as he held the door open. "Wonderful, you have long term designs for me." It would take a complete and utter idiot to miss the inflection.

"And you have none for me?" Hermione looked genuinely shocked. "That's awfully lax of you; I thought you had a plan for almost everything."

Severus pursed his lips as Hermione ran her hand suggestively down the buttons of his robe when he stepped outside after her. "Aren't there job applications you could be filling out instead of tormenting me?"

"None. I already sent them off and did the interviews." She gave a mischievous smile.

"Even Gringotts?" he took her hand and tucked it under his arm as they started walking.

"Even Gringotts. Honestly, I don't know why some people find the twenty five page application such a bother," she smirked up at him. "I have plenty of free time until I get some replies."

"Lovely," Severus said, half pleased and half disappointed; if Hermione kept up these little games of hers, they'd end up in bed far too soon.

"Are you really that worried about Mr. Malfoy?" Hermione asked after a moment. "I would imagine that he's fine."

"That man has an affinity for attracting trouble," Severus snorted. "And a greater affinity for slithering away from it. He's worse than Potter I daresay."

"Meaning he's perfectly fine then," Hermione countered with a smile. "It's not like someone's pointing the finger at him again."

"I certainly hope not; who knows how he would react to any more slander."

"Yes, I would imagine having you being portrayed as the homewrecker is doing wonders for both your images."

Severus pressed his lips together tightly. That rumour was annoying, infuriating and all together impossible to halt. If people didn't read about it in the newspaper, they'd spread it through word of mouth. If there was one good thing to the constant saturation of the 'illicit liaison between the aristocrat and the Potions Master' in the tabloids, it was that it had to die down sooner or later. Severus was hoping for sooner, but the rumour seemed to possess some tenacity about it. And undoubtedly once someone caught onto the fact that he was dating an ex-student fresh out of Hogwarts, he would have a few new labels as well.

"Come on," Hermione said, tugging on his arm gently. "The sooner you check up on Lucius, the sooner you can relax and enjoy yourself."

Severus couldn't argue with that logic. He allowed himself to be steered into the small pub they had arrived at by Floo earlier on. A few glances were directed at them, but Severus hurried Hermione along and slipped in beside her. This place was making him distinctly uneasy. Not to mention that haggard looking couple in the corner that was directing nasty looks at him and Hermione. He glanced at Hermione and found her scrutinising them with a squint before she gave a dismissive snort and looked away. He wrapped an arm around her and reached for the Floo powder. A moment later they were hurtling along before being deposited in the main foyer of Malfoy Manor.

"Those people were odd…" Hermione mused as she stepped onto the polished floor and dusted Floo powder from herself. "They were looking at us like… they knew us somehow."

"Or they're simply old, bitter and paranoid," Severus said with his usual scowl in place. "Lucius will probably be in his study."

"All right."

They walked up the stairs, the silence only broken by the whisper of their shoes against the floor. Hermione was looking around at the various things decorating the ledges and shelves as well as the portraits that remained stoically silent and looking haughtily down their nose at them. Severus could have sworn this was another place that didn't change. Its occupants aged, died, and left a new generation but the place itself was a constant. But there was something distinctly wrong about it now. There was an aura that it never possessed before; it was something highly charged and volatile, like something had exploded. For a place that was solemn practically all the time, this was definitely odd. He looked around continually, trying to see what could be causing it.

"Severus, what's this?"

Hermione's voice sounded oddly dreamy and soft. When he looked over, he found her reaching out to touch what appeared to be a withered blackish plant nestled in a dark corner. He reached for her hand and pulled her back sharply. There came a ripping sound as she lurched into his chest and shook her head as if to clear it. Torn and thin black vines receded from where she was standing and small ends still attached to her shoes wriggled feebly before remaining still. He could feel her shudder against his chest and shake the vines from her feet rapidly.

"That," he said quietly, watching as the small pieces go flying. "Was a forget-me-not plant."

"Aren't those supposed to have little blue flowers?"'

"The harmless ones, yes. This kind of plant is only covered during post Hogwarts studies. It requires carefully controlled lab work, as it's somewhat… sentient. Some house owners like to use it as a… burglary deterrent."

"What does it do?" Hermione asked, still peering at the plant as Severus started guiding her down the hallway.

"It wraps up its victims in an airtight vine cocoon and then proceeds to inject them with liquefying venom. Then it sucks up the resulting mush for sustenance."

"Wouldn't that be classified as a Dark plant?"

"Yes; but it also fits under the classification of home security. That's the only reason why it survived the Ministry's purge of the manor. Besides, I have no doubt they had a hellish time trying to get near it without being injected with poison," Severus said. "Now stay close to me. Merlin knows Lucius has other things in here that are just as deadly."

Hermione nodded and moved in closer to him. "Just how does it inject the venom into someone? Via barbs or something like a syringe?"

"Barbs; they scratch the skin deep enough for the venom to work its way in. It usually takes a victim about a week to die. It's a very slow and painful death." He finished in a deadpan voice.

"You sound like you've seen it first hand." Hermione said quietly.

Severus didn't reply to that but his tensed almost instinctively. The Dark Lord certainly had an odd manner in which to amuse himself and his Death Eaters. Hermione didn't say anything but moved in closer to him. They continued along until Severus paused in front of a set of heavy oak doors.

"Ignore anything he says to you. If he looks at you funny, resist the urge to hex him," Severus said looking at Hermione.

Her lip quirked upwards a bit. "I'll do my best, but I am making no promises."

Severus gave a wry sort of smirk and opened the door. The study that greeted then was silent and empty. It looked like it hadn't been used in days. He furrowed his brow and stepped into the study. This certainly was odd. Lucius' study was much like an inner sanctum. When he wished to be alone, or to have some time to collect his thoughts, anything, he came here. So as to why it was oddly deserted, he was at a loss. This was getting stranger and stranger.

"Severus, would you please come for a moment?"

He turned to find Hermione standing at the door, leaning out, and her head tilted to the side slightly. It seemed as if she was listening to something very faint. He came and looked down the hallway, seeing nothing.

"What is it?"

"Shh," she murmured quietly. "Listen."

Silence came once more as he gave a disparaging snort and listened as well. It was very faint, and he didn't hear it right away. It took a few more seconds of straining his ears to hear it. It was the sound of voices. He couldn't tell who it was but he definitely heard voices.

"Do you think Lucius would be there?"

He shot Hermione a look and was rewarded with a smug expression on her face. Shaking his head, he stepped out and motioned for her to follow him. The voices grew louder as they approached and Severus became certain of a few things. There was a voice that definitely belonged to Lucius. And it was loud, as if the elder Malfoy was yelling at the top of his lungs, along with everyone else in the room. He could hear Draco, Valerian and Tonks as well as a voice that was Potter's. Well, a voice that sounded an awful lot like Potter's; that last one certainly had to be his imagination. He didn't see that boy stepping foot into Malfoy Manor on any grounds. He could see the door more clearly as they approached and he found himself wondering just what kind of argument was taking place.

When he and Hermione paused outside the door, the voices were still well muffled, but much more audible. He glanced at her and she motioned to the door with a resigned expression on her face, as if she were expecting a disaster on the other side. Severus felt very much inclined to agree with her and didn't want to open then door. Still he reached for the doorknob and turned.

A solid wall of angry sound greeted him from a small crack. Frowning, he threw the door open. He could barely hear Hermione's gasp of complete shock as he stared at the scene in front of him. There were a grand total of eight people in Lucius bedroom, including Lucius himself. Blaise was barely restraining Draco while Tonks did her best to calm him down. Valerian, Remus and some woman were engaged in some sort of yelling match about something while a newspaper was being waved about. And, to cap it all off, Harry and Lucius were in the bed, naked save for the bedsheets wrapped around their waists and yelling just as much. Severus couldn't figure out who on Earth was yelling at whom. All he knew was that the room was filled with a ludicrous amount of noise and the entire situation wouldn't be resolved until something of the truth came out.

Hermione seemed to be thinking along the same lines as him since she stepped forward and easily cast a silencing spell. The abrupt quiet that descended over the room was startling and caused every one to look in their direction. He watched as Hermione tucked her wand away and surveyed the occupants slowly.

"Now, once you all calm down, I will remove the spell and let you explain what's going on here."

"And you two, put on some clothes," Severus snapped at Harry and Lucius, finally managing to find his voice. What Harry and Lucius were doing in bed that merited nakedness and to clothe themselves with a bed sheet he didn't want to know or deal with at the moment.

Harry scowled, muttered what could only be an expletive, and slunk off the bed with a sheet still clutched around his waist. He hurried to the bathroom and slammed the door behind himself. Lucius was still on the bed and looked supremely arrogant, even with a sheet bunched up at his hips. It was as if he was daring anyone to say anything to set him off. Draco shook Blaise off him and crossed his arms with an impressive scowl. Tonks wandered back to Valerian's side while Remus and the woman looked distinctly uncomfortable.

"All right," Hermione said, drawing her wand once more. "I'm going to break the spell now. A calm explanation of what happened would be nice."

She jabbed her wand sharply and looked around. Severus stood there beside her, arms crossed with a displeased expression on his face. Draco and Blaise squirmed uncomfortably, while everyone else bar Lucius simply didn't look at him at all.

"No one is going to tell us what happened at all?" Hermione ventured.

At that precise moment Harry came stomping out the bathroom, clothes wrinkled and obviously thrown on. He had a black expression on his face.

"I'll tell you exactly what's going on!" Draco exploded, pointing an accusatory finger at Harry. "This little slut –"

"I am not a goddamn slut!" Harry bristled. "Why don't you shut your stupid trap, you bloody –"

"Hey, don't you talk to him like that! I'll hex your balls off!" Blaise snarled.

"You'll do nothing of the sort." Lucius growled as he got off the bed. "You'll –"

"Oh, and you're a good one to talk!" Blaise snapped at the elder Malfoy. "You got him in your bed," Blaise's finger swung to point at Severus. "And then when he," his finger was now swung to Harry. "Comes slinking in, you welcome him with both legs spread?"

Severus gritted his teeth at that comment and rubbed his temples slowly. It was Witch Weekly entire fault and not his, Lucius' and certainly not Blaise's. But he was getting bloody sick of hearing comments like that.

"Now look, this is hardly the issue at hand," Valerian began loudly. "This –"

"This is the issue at hand, to hell with your wretched concerns!" Draco roared.

"Well sorry for my efforts to keep your father out of jail, you little brat!" Valerian snapped. "Maybe you shouldn't be so self-centred you –"

"Better self centred than a workaholic!" Draco shot back. "You have Nymphadora mooning after you and you don't even notice it! Who's worse off, huh!"

Tonks' face went bright red with embarrassment but she looked livid, as if ready to hex Draco into nothingness. Severus thought this an excellent opportunity to step in but he was cut short when Tonks spoke.

"Cripes Draco," Tonks began. "If we don't address this issue, Lucius could be facing Azkaban this time. Who knows what the judges might decide; they might even re-examine the case, with new evidence introduced."

"That bloody little Weasley bitch has nothing on him! She went to the Quibbler of all papers! She discredited herself the moment the goddamned bloody story hit the press!"

"But it still needs to be addressed!" the woman finally spoke and it was with a loud voice that commanded attention. "Your father's philanthropic efforts could be completely ignored and –"

"Who are you! What the hell are you doing here anyway?" Draco snarled. "I'll bet you're just here to get your filthy paws on more of our galleons!"

"I suggest you watch what you say," Remus growled. "Especially to this lady."

"Why don't you go and maul someone else, werewolf?" Draco snapped.

"Hey, don't you talk to Remus that way!" Harry stepped towards Draco angrily.

"And what are you going to do about it?" Draco sneered as he turned around and jabbed Harry in the chest with a finger. "I'll bet you're the one who spread your legs first, didn't you, s-lu-t?" he drew the word out with a nasty drawl

Harry's face contorted as he launched himself at Draco and they fell to the floor in a pile of flailing limbs and cursing. Both Lucius and Blaise moved to separate them but ended up drawing back, unsure of just how to accomplish that. After a few seconds, Lucius disappeared to the bathroom and reappeared with a silk robe tied on tightly. His face was grim as he attempted to separate Harry and Draco. Blaise stepped in once more, his face equally set. It took some help from Valerian and from the woman to pull Draco off Harry and for Remus and Tonks to help Lucius get Harry to his feet.

Severus didn't say anything as Harry wiped away the blood from his cheek and the corner of his lip with the back of his hand. He wondered if anyone else noticed that Harry instinctively drew back closer Lucius. Or those long scratch marks on Lucius' back before he went into the bathroom.

"All of you shut up and listen," Severus began loudly. "Pointing fingers won't do any good. Harry, go home. Valerian, you and the rest of your entourage can go wait downstairs in the parlour. Draco, go to your room. Lucius, you and I are going to have a talk."

Loud sounds of protest came at once and Severus closed his eyes and rubbed his temples.

"Now!" he barked. "I certainly don't mean later, you blithering fools!"

Sullen muttering came but people filed out of the room. Hermione stood on her tiptoes and whispered that she'd go with Harry and try to find out what was going on. He simply nodded his head and she gave him a soft smile and a quick kiss on the cheek. He watched as she hurried after the skulking Gryffindor. This was officially their worst date ever; there would be nothing that could, or would, ever top this fiasco. But it couldn't be helped and now they, more or less, had to pick up the pieces. The room cleared out with surprising slowness and it was a good five minutes before he was alone with Lucius.

"Now then would you care to explain the cause of this chaotic argument?" Severus asked dryly.

"I believe that's none of your concern, Severus."

Severus didn't reply for a moment. Lucius was speaking in that silky soft voice that said to tread carefully lest he make you regret sticking your nose in his business. He decided to ignore that and keep on.

"This may come as a surprise to you, but I do know something of the manner in which you interacted with Potter in the room for a month; oddly out of character for you. You actually were nice to the boy. Not just tolerable, but actually nice. You both interacted like you were old friends."

Lucius stared back impassively at him.

"Of course, I was too engrossed in the Cruoris potion to pay much attention to it then. It came to my attention later on when Potter was buying his wand. Of course, the manner in which you _didn't_ blackmail a testimony from Potter or myself made me wonder. However, that train of thought was interrupted at the time as well. And now, in light of your recent state of… deshabillé," he placed a delicate emphasis on the word that caused Lucius to frown slightly. "I'm starting to wonder just how it was managed."

"How what was managed?" Lucius asked in a cool voice.

"How you both managed to behave yourself for a month in the room. Potter already trusts you, implicitly as well. It wasn't very apparent before but it was blatant a moment ago"

"And what makes you say that?"

Severus arched an eyebrow. So Lucius was going to make him fight for it. "I find it rather interesting that he's known Lupin longer than he's known you. Yet it was you he moved closer to once he and Draco were separated. Not Lupin, as he probably should have."

"So your eyes work." Lucius stated simply.

Severus didn't say anything for a long moment. "How long has this been going on Lucius?"

"Long enough." Lucius finally said.

"So," Severus began slowly. "You've both been playing me for a fool this entire time?"

"No; you just happened to get caught in the middle." Lucius said simply with a deadpan expression. "If you must place the blame on someone, place it on Dumbledore."

Severus gave a mighty sigh; Lucius certainly was being a stubborn bastard tonight. Some volunteering of information would be nice, but he could pry it from the elder Malfoy one way or another. He didn't care how urgently Valerian needed to speak to Lucius.

"Neither of us is stupid," Severus said finally. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way. This is entirely your choice."

Lucius simply regarded him with that deadpan expression and Severus found himself hard pressed to resist the urge to sigh once more. He knew he'd end up regretting something tonight.

* * *

"Just who the hell does he think he is? Where does he get off calling me a slut? Draco's got some bloody nerve, I can tell you that!" 

Hermione didn't say anything from her spot on the couch, simply watching Harry. He huffed and started pacing back and forth again once more. This was the last thing he needed to happen. He knew he had to tell Draco about him and Lucius one day. He'd planned it enough times. Hell that was the reason why he invited over Draco and Blaise to his flat. But when he went to speak the words, he was immediately filled with the sense that it was nothing more than a bad idea.

But of course it wouldn't be pleasant. Saying something like, 'Draco's I'm sleeping with your father and we've been in an intimate relationship for about a year now' was not the sort of thing that wasn't easy to bring up in any situation. And then there was the fact that he really did appreciate Draco's friendship. This was a surefire way to lose it. And he probably lost it tonight. Merlin knew they flung enough nasty words and accusations at one another, both explicit and implied. Too many people knew about it now. The next thing he knew, when he looked at Witch Weekly, the new headline would read, 'Boy-Who-Lived in tryst with Lucius Malfoy!' or some other garbage like that. In short, one of his worst nightmares splashed right out there for the entire Wizarding world to see in its full chaotic glory.

"Harry."

Hermione's quiet voice broke through his mental musings. "What?" he snapped testily.

"Perhaps you're overreacting a bit?"

"Overreacting? I'm _overreacting_!" he stared at her in disbelief. "Oh, I'm sorry that I didn't tell Draco sooner. I'm sorry that I tried to explain it rationally to him when he walked into the room and found us in bed! But I am not bloody sorry that I decked him when he called me a slut for the thirty-third time tonight!"

"You actually counted?" Hermione's lips curled up in amusement.

"This is not funny!" Harry bellowed.

"Of course not," Hermione said, sobering her expression immediately. "It is far from funny, I do agree with you."

"You're not acting like it."

"The situation is quite serious. I just find it amusing that in between all the yelling and stuff, you counted the number of times he called you a slut."

"Why the hell did you come with me?" Harry demanded. "You're no help at all!"

Hermione gave him a mildly disapproving look. "You're only saying that because I won't badmouth Draco with you. And that's all you're doing. I can't constructively help you unless you calm down and explain what happened."

"Goddamn it 'Mione," Harry snapped, his voice suddenly going hoarse. "Would you be calm if everything you wanted just slipped through your fingers?"

He turned away from her and proceeded to kick the stones of the fireplace. All he ended up doing was stubbing his toes and cursing loudly. But the pain was sobering and he didn't want sobering up at the moment. He wanted to be angry and blame somebody. Hermione rose from her seat and went to him.

"Oh Harry, it'll be all right."

Hermione's words were accompanied by a hug. For a moment, he stood there stiffly before he relaxed and tentatively hugged her back. She patted his back every so often and made soft cooing noises. After what seemed like forever, she drew back and smiled at him.

"Feel better?"

Harry nodded his head curtly. He felt marginally better but was still pretty riled up. But he wouldn't tell Hermione that. He let her guide him to the couch to rest.

"Now then, you can tell me what happened when you feel ready."

It took Harry a good five minutes of deep breathing before he started to speak. "Well, Lucius and I were in bed and we'd just… er…"

Hermione nodded her head. "Continue."

"Well, we were lying there and kissing when all of a sudden the door bursts open and there was everyone and they all froze and stopped speaking when they saw us and then Draco spoke and then Valerian cut him off and then Draco tried to drag me from the bed, and Lucius got mad so Tonks stepped in and Blaise did as well and Valerian and that lady tried to get our attention again and Remus was trying to get me to calm down, but it was too late by that point and then we were all yelling and then –"

"All right, calm down Harry," Hermione said, resting a hand on his shoulder. "You can breathe when you speak you know."

Harry nodded and took a deep breath.

"So I gather that when Severus and I arrived, the argument was only getting started?"

"It was well on its way."

"And it all started because you were caught in bed with Lucius?"

Harry nodded his head in silence. Hermione didn't say anything for a long moment as she thought.

"You know Harry, I seriously doubt that it's all slipped through your fingers. You had some reason to be in bed with Lucius Malfoy. And, judging from the way you both interacted, you wanted to be there and he wanted you there. I really do think he would have retaliated if Blaise made good on his threat."

"But after all this…" Harry groaned and held his head in his hands. "The entire Wizarding world is going to know."

"I really do doubt that." Hermione said as she rubbed his back soothingly.

"Oh come on, do you mean to tell me you're not expecting to see it in the next Witch Weekly."

"For starters, Witch Weekly is garbage, nothing more, nothing less. And there are a few things working in your favour. This relationship must have been going on for a long while. If Valerian does utter a word of it, Lucius could simply cite client confidentiality and get Valerian disbarred. Valerian doesn't want to lose his career and I'm sure Lucius doesn't want to lose an exemplary lawyer."

"But Draco –"

"Probably won't want any more attention on his family and himself. I heard there was some mention of something involving Lucius in the newspaper. I'll bet you that even if he was considering the idea of going to a paper with this, Severus is probably convincing him otherwise right this moment. Blaise won't go because he'll get dragged into it as well."

"But what about –"

"Surely you don't suspect Remus? You know he'll protect your privacy. And Tonks… I don't think she'd want to create more work for herself by speaking about it."

"No, I was going to say Ravenna."

"Ravenna?"

"Valerian's sister. Apparently, she runs a werewolf organisation that Remus helps out with from time to time."

"Oh," Hermione fell silent for a moment with a thoughtful look. "I don't think she'd talk. It sounds like Lucius' galleons are the main reason why they're afloat at the moment. If she spilled, he would more than likely withdraw support and that could cripple them. No, I don't think she'd talk."

Harry didn't say anything for a long moment, regarding Hermione. "How is it you can make anything seem less worse than it actually is."

"Well, if you'd stopped panicking, you'd realise the same thing too." Hermione smiled. "I know you're scared but it's not that bad. You can make it through this and no one else will know."

Harry snorted. "You know, I was half expecting you to chew me out."

Hermione laughed. "Oddly enough, I thought you would chew me out when you caught me and Severus. I was a horrible bundle of nerves for days afterwards. But you never showed up and lectured me. And when I did see you again, you never even mentioned it. You have no idea how grateful I am for that."

"Yeah, well, if he makes you happy…" Harry trailed off gruffly.

"And that's why I am not lecturing you. If Lucius is what makes you happy, then so be it."

Harry gave a massive sigh. "Thanks 'Mione. Honestly, it does help that you keep a level head."

"Merlin knows what you and Ron would do without me," she laughed. "You'd both be a right mess."

Harry smiled and laughed. He trailed off, shaking his head and opened his mouth to speak when a gush of flames came from the fireplace. Both he and Hermione looked to see Ron pop out of the fireplace and lurch forward, crashing right into the coffee table with a spectacular amount of noise. They both went over and Hermione pushed the table out of the way while Harry bent down and dusted the bits of wood from Ron before helping him up.

"Jesus Ron, I didn't think you'd destroy something in my flat," Harry said dryly. "What are you in such a hurry fo–"

"This!"

Ron proclamation echoed through the living room as he practically shoved a newspaper right into Harry's face. Harry pushed him away a bit before taking the paper from him. Ron was already pacing back and forth, running a hand through his hair. He was so preoccupied that he didn't even notice that he was working the Floo powder in further.

"And what's this?" Harry asked, waving the paper.

"Just… Merlin, I can't believe she did this! There's no way that she can take him on and win! It's that stupid new friend she got for herself; I'll bet you anything she had something to do with it!"

"Ron, really, I think it's good that Ginny's got herself another friend," Hermione chided. "Do you do remember how hesitant she was about going back out and doing stuff again?"

Ron made an incredibly frustrated sound. "Yeah, but this… she doesn't stand a Flobberworm's chance in a flock or Fwoopers!"

And with that, Ron fell into the single chair and held his head in his hands. Harry looked at him before he motioned Hermione over and snapped open the newspaper. What greeted him was a lone picture of Ginny, looking absolutely miserable and sniffling every so often. And right above that in big black bold letters was the headline of 'Lucius Malfoy killed my lovers'. He swallowed and glanced at Hermione. Her brows were furrowed and she quickly snatched the newspaper away from him and settled herself down on the couch, reading intently. Harry looked over at Ron and found him plucking at his sleeve.

"Ron?" he asked, coming over to the chair and perching on the armrest.

"Merlin, what am I going to do?" Ron moaned, plucking at the fabric more. "We were supposed to have a nice family dinner tomorrow night. Charlie and Bill weren't expecting this! And Percy has so much to deal with already, let alone this! I'll be lucky if I don't get fired for this!"

"I don't think you'll get fired over something like this Ron." Harry said as he reached over and stilled Ron's fingers.

"Harry, my sister is suing Lucius Malfoy! How do you think that's going to look to my boss? I'll be lucky if I don't get sacked tomorrow morning!" Ron moaned and hung his head.

Harry looked back at Hermione, who had conjured a pen and was scribbling all over the newspaper, and shifted a bit uncomfortably. He wasn't too sure what to do or say now. He rubbed at the back of his neck a bit fretfully, batting the strands of hair away.

"All right, look," he finally said. "You should go home and try to relax. Have dinner with your family tomorrow. You should think over just what you're going to do very carefully."

Ron nodded his head a bit absently. "That's probably the best thing to do. Christ, this was supposed to be a happy day. I think the only ones who'll be happy will be Charlie, Bill and Ginny; Ginny's getting what she wants and Charlie and Bill certainly won't know about it yet."

"I think you should try and be happy too. This is something Ginny has to do by herself. The most you can do is support her if you agree with her."

"Yeah…" Ron said giving Harry a funny look. It disappeared a moment later before Ron sighed heavily. "So what time are you getting there?"

"Huh?" Harry blinked.

"To dinner tomorrow. I sent you an owl about it last week."

"Really?"

"Yeah; Pig came back with nothing, so you must have gotten it."

Harry frowned for a moment. He certainly didn't recall a letter from Ron last week. But he did get a lot of mail that he couldn't be bothered with last week; and he had burned an awful lot of letters

"Er…" Harry began in a hesitant voice.

"Well?"

"I think I may have burned it by mistake," Harry said sheepishly. "I've been getting so much mail from witches and wizards that I have to burn them to cope with it. I'm only 17 for Merlin's sake; there's only so many love letters and marriage proposals that I can stomach."

Ron goggled at him. "Seriously? You need to find someone again. That'll put them off your trail."

"Really Ron, that's not –"

"Leave everything to me, all right? You'll be all set after tomorrow!" And it seemed like a second later that Ron was bounding towards the fireplace and reaching for a pocketful of Floo powder. "Just come with 'Mione and her boyfriend."

And with that, Ron stepped into the fireplace and disappeared in a burst of flame. Harry watched the fireplace for a moment before he made his way over to the couch and sat down beside Hermione.

"Did you know?"

"Hm?" Hermione looked up at him. "Know about what?"

"The dinner at Ron's tomorrow."

"Harry, Ron sent owls last week. So far as I know, all the Weasleys will be there, their girlfriends, Ginny's friend, you and me."

"Ron's under the impression that Severus is coming."

"I told Ron that my boyfriend would have no interest in coming. Ron's convinced that I can convince him. I'm convinced that I can't convince him so why waste my time convincing him to be convinced into attending just because Ron's convinced that I can convince him in the first place? Besides, we're not at that stage of our relationship yet."

Harry had lost her after the first 'convince' so he simply nodded his head. "How good a matchmaker do you think Ron is? This should be someone I can get rid of easily, right."

"You should be able to. Ron's not very good; he picks obvious things. You know, maybe it's a good thing he hooked up with Parvati; she can understand that side of him, but she can prod him to go a bit deeper when necessary."

"That's very blunt."

"I'm his friend. That's my job, to be brutally honest when necessary." Hermione pronounced as she pulled out the inside section of the Quibbler.

Harry slid the front page from her grasp, looking down at the headline and Ginny's picture. When he looked back up, he found Hermione looking at him with a soft smile.

"You never do pick the easy path do you?"

"That wouldn't be as much fun." Harry replied back a bit flatly.

Hermione reached over and slid an arm around his shoulder, giving it a squeeze. "You'll get through this; the both of you."

All Harry could do was nod his head back mutely as he looked back down at the front page.

* * *

Lucius rubbed his temples tiredly. The only time he had for himself was when Valerian graciously allowed him to change before commencing this small… meeting. It had taken all night and it was now almost four thirty in the morning; all in all, it was going very badly. When he managed to get a word in edgewise, Remus would snipe at him. Then Ravenna would snipe at Remus. Valerian would chide his sister and then Tonks would join in. Thankfully, Severus had elected to not stay around long after getting some reluctant answers from Lucius. What had promised to become another round of great sex of Harry became nothing more than an interrogation, first from Severus and then from Valerian and company. 

"Cripes Lucius, are you even paying attention?"

Lucius snapped out of his thoughts to find Tonks looking at him expectantly. "Yes."

"You don't look like it." Tonks grumbled.

Lucius flashed Tonks a mildly displeased look while Ravenna cleared her throat.

"Lucius this needs to be dealt with; preferably tomorrow morning as this has been printed in the evening edition of the Quibbler."

He glanced down nastily at the front page article that got him into this new whack of trouble to begin with. "Of course it needs to be dealt with. A statement should be issued. Both regarding young Miss Weasley's accusations and the manner in which they implicated your organisation Ravenna."

"Maybe a small press conference is in order," Remus suggested. "You can address any other questions and nip any potential problem before it starts."

There was a murmur of assent to that but Lucius was watching Remus carefully. That was the first bit he'd said since this entire meeting had started. And the sandy haired man was now watching him carefully, as if he could pick him apart until there was nothing left to hide.

"I do believe that's the most constructive thing said all night," Lucius said in a quiet voice. "And if I do have a press conference to hold later on, I think it would be best if I didn't look like I didn't sleep the entire night."

"Good point," Valerian said wearily. "Just firecall us when you're ready for that press conference. I'll work out the –"

"Oh no, you won't!" Ravenna said imperiously. "If I catch you working anymore –"

"Well, you're certainly not in any state to organise something of this – "

"I think neither of you are," Lucius interjected calmly. "Since you both look like you've spent a few pleasant days with a Dementor close by."

He caught Remus glancing at him before he looked at away. Lucius sniffed but didn't say anything. Valerian had more than likely been working for at least eighteen hours straight and Ravenna looked equally haggard; there were circles under their eyes, a general slump to their shoulders… overall they looked like they had stretched themselves far too thin during the past few days.

"Ravenna, you go home and sleep as well," Remus said, rising from the table. "I'll make the arrangements for the press conference."

"Remus," Ravenna began tiredly.

"Am I not part of the organisation? Do I not I have certain responsibilities that this could entail?"

"Well… yes, but –" Ravenna began.

"Go home. You're both spreading yourselves too thin." Remus said.

Lucius didn't say anything as Remus ushered them to the door and closed it after them. He didn't say anything, simply looking at the Quibbler article. 'Lucius Malfoy killed my lovers', indeed. No one would pay much attention to the part about lovers; no, they would see 'Lucius Malfoy' followed up by 'killed'. It did warrant damage control, even if it was in the Quibbler. And the fact that Ginny had pointed the finger at Ravenna as well, claiming that her werewolf organisation was sheltering him only complicated matters. What he truly wanted to know was how that young Weasley girl found that out. This was the precise reason that he made himself a philanthropist who insisted on the utmost privacy. So far as he knew, Ravenna had upheld her end of the bargain as much best she could. He rubbed his temples slightly with a disgusted snort.

"I think it's time you and I had a talk Lucius Malfoy."

Remus' quiet voice broke the silence in the room. Lucius looked up from the front page article and found Remus taking the seat in the opposing chair.

"Regarding your adopted charge?" Lucius asked mildly.

"Yes, about Harry," Remus narrowed his eyes slightly. "And your intentions."

Lucius arched an eyebrow. He was half tempted to say something like, 'I intend to serve my parole before we go globetrotting and have constant hot, steamy sex every night' but refrained. "Quite frankly, my intentions are none of your business."

"No, I think you've misinterpreted mine," Remus said crisply. "I've already had a talk with Harry about you. And really, Harry's opinion is the only one I want. What I meant was in regards to Harry and this situation. You know he doesn't want any more publicity."

"Obviously I intend to keep him far away from it as possible."

"I see. Then what do you plan to do if he ends up supporting the Weasleys?"

A scowl settled on Lucius' face before he rose from the table and strode over to the fireplace. He tossed the newspaper in and set it on fire. He watched the parchment curl and blacken before becoming ash.

"I'm not a stupid man," he said finally. "I can't make his decisions for him and I certainly would be an idiot to force my opinions on him."

"I see."

Lucius turned his head and glanced back at Remus before snorting dismissively. "Yes, I'm sure you do."

"I know, anything coming from me might seem worthless, but I do have Harry's best interests at heart and I do what I can for him."

Lucius felt a sharp stab of irrational anger flood him for a moment. "Of course you do." He replied with biting sarcasm.

"You know," Remus said after a long moment in a slightly exasperated tone. "I didn't stay behind to suffer your pissy attitude."

"Forgive me if I find your words to be the height of hypocrisy."

"What are you talking about? I haven't contradicted myself in any manner."

Nothing was said for a long moment until Lucius turned around and drew his wand. He watched as Remus tensed, ready to spring, and cast a silencing spell on the door. Remus' expression was slightly wary and mystified. Lucius regarded him.

"Haven't you? Tell me, did the Order make a unanimous decision to place Harry with the Dursleys? Or was that all simply Dumbledore's actions?"

Remus' eyes narrowed. "Harry told you about the Order?"

"Yes. And it hardly matters as the sole reason for the Order's existence is now dead for good."

Remus frowned but didn't say anything to that comment. "That was Dumbledore's decision. Besides, where else would he have gone? Sirius was in Azkaban and I certainly wasn't fit or stable enough to raise a child in any manner back then. Believe me, if I didn't have this condition, things would be very different right now."

"And no one raised any objections whatsoever?"

"Minerva had some reservations but so far as I know, Dumbledore addressed them. She never raised them again."

"And what about later on?"

Remus didn't say anything for a moment on. "How much later on are you talking about here?"

Lucius' eyes narrowed as a flicker of apprehension showed on Remus' face. After a moment, Remus sighed heavily and slid a hand over his eyes with a smile.

"Just what are you smiling about?" Lucius demanded nastily.

"Took him long enough to tell someone."

That was the last thing Lucius had been expecting as a reply. He crossed his arms with a sour expression. After a few moments, Remus rubbed his face briskly and regarded Lucius.

"Really, I couldn't do anything about it. He didn't want to talk about it at all, even when I hinted to it. And unless he told me himself, I could do nothing. It would be too easy for him to feel frightened and simply deny everything."

"Surely that Mudblood noticed; she's always sticking her nose where it doesn't belong."

Remus frowned. "_Hermione_ never noticed. Neither did Ron or anyone else. It's like they refused to believe that such a thing could happen to Harry of all people. It made it that much easier for him to hide it from them."

"But he couldn't hide it from you." Lucius stated baldly.

"It's kind of hard to hide the scent of blood from a werewolf," Remus said dryly. "He'd clean himself up and heal everything as best he could, but I just had to see him once with Vernon at King's Cross to know something wasn't right. The scent of fear and blood told me all I needed to know. You know, perhaps I should be thanking you."

It seemed that Lucius was constantly being surprised tonight. "How touching."

"Before, it seemed like Harry was losing something that kept him going. When he vanished, everyone else panicked and worried that he would come back irreparably damaged somehow. He came back much different, but I'm thinking whatever happened between you two changed him for the better."

Lucius didn't reply, simply watching Remus for a moment. "Don't you have a press conference to be arranging?"

"Quite right," Remus said rising. "I'll firecall you when it's all been arranged. You might want to get some sleep. You'll be having a trying day tomorrow."

Lucius gave him a dismissive sneer. "Lupin."

"Yes?" Remus paused at the door.

"Make sure it's early afternoon. I want it on the evening edition of every paper. I don't care who you have to curse. And if someone mentions Severus or Potter, make sure they regret it."

Remus didn't say anything for a moment before he coughed politely before saying in a strained voice, "I'll tell Severus that you said hello and Harry that you send your love."

Lucius narrowed his eyes and Remus quickly slipped out the door and closed it securely. How dare the werewolf put words in his mouth; it was only even more infuriating that they were the truth. Grumbling to himself, he stalked out the door, and made his way back to his bedroom. It was now dark and quiet, but there were faint beams of light coming in from outside. The bed linens were still rumpled and he raised his wand to fix them before he thought better of it. He stripped down and laid his wand on the bedside table before pulling the sheets straight and getting it. It didn't take him long to fall asleep.

* * *


	29. Chapter 28

_**Come the Maëlstrom**_

_Chapter Twenty Eight_

"Harry, are you ready?"

"Yup!" he called, hurrying out from his bedroom and doing up his travelling cloak.

He didn't like to be hurried when he got dressed, but he supposed he had asked for it, in a twisted sort of way. When Hermione had left last night she told him what time she would come by to pick him up. He had only stepped out of the shower when he heard Hermione's voice calling him from downstairs. He didn't think could finish dressing so fast. When he walked into the living room, Hermione was standing in front of the fireplace with her arms crossed. He hurried over to the fireplace and reached up on the mantle for the Floo powder.

"Dinner won't be until later, why do we have to leave so early?"

"Because Ron would appreciate it if we could help out." Hermione replied. "Your cloak pin is crooked."

Harry looked down as she reached out and righted it. She patted it with finality a moment later.

"Couldn't we get there for two or three instead?" he asked. "I haven't even eaten anything yet."

"No, Ron asked me to get there for twelve, and he suggested you go with me. That was actually a very subtle way for him to get your help also. Besides, I'm sure Mrs. Weasley wouldn't mind giving you breakfast."

Harry settled for discontent grumbling as he reached into the Floo powder container and grasped a handful. He handed it to Hermione and stepped into the fireplace and threw it down, calling out his destination. Harry wasn't all too sure what to expect when he walked out of the fireplace into the Burrow. He certainly wasn't expecting to be swept up into a large hug by Mrs. Weasley.

"It's lovely to see you again Harry dear!" she exclaimed, as she stepped back so she could look at him. "You look a mite thin though."

Harry managed a smile as he heard the sound of flames coming behind him once again. He looked back and Hermione stepped out, dusting the Floo powder from her robes briskly.

"Is it just you Hermione?" Mrs. Weasley asked with a furrow in her brow. "Ron said you were bringing your boyfriend."

"He's been very busy lately and won't be able to come. I asked Professor Lupin if he would like to come. He said he would be by later since he's busy for most of the afternoon."

Harry glanced back in time to see Mrs. Weasley give a disapproving snort but she nodded her head nonetheless.

"It's nice to see you both. Ron and Parvati have gone out to pick up some groceries and Ginny's gone to get her friend. They should be back soon now."

"Anything we can do to help?" Hermione asked, removing her cloak.

"Not at the moment. Not until those groceries arrive. Have you eaten?"

"No actually," Harry said. "Breakfast would be nice."

"I haven't eaten myself. We'll all sit down and have a nice little meal together."

Mrs. Weasley hurried them to the kitchen and sat them down. Harry sat down a bit gingerly in the seat and Hermione took the one beside him.

"What's wrong? You look very uncomfortable." Hermione whispered.

"Well, the last time I was with Mrs. Weasley, I made a bed move. She just wouldn't let up and I got exasperated and –"

"Then try to keep your temper and be as understanding as possible," she patted his forearm. "And don't dwell on it. She's bound to notice that something is bothering you."

Harry snorted. "She's bound to notice I'm worried about something," he gave a wry smile. "I think the question is what isn't bothering me."

Hermione chuckled at that, earning a glance from Mrs. Weasley. "That probably is the better question. So, have you picked a job yet?"

"No, not at the moment," Harry replied. "Too many to pick from. And I want something that will keep me on my toes, you know? But I'm going to wait a year."

"That seems like a good idea. Maybe you could use it as a testing period, see what suits you."

Harry nodded his head. "What about you? Last I knew, you were fielding an offer from Gringotts, the Ministry and a few other places."

"You know, I got my Gringotts letter this morning."

Harry smiled at the mischievous smirk on Hermione's face. "And? You must have gotten the job."

"You are now looking at Gringotts newest Arithmantic forecaster, starting in November."

That's great 'Mione, I knew you could do it."

"Thank you. Apparently mine was the first application in and it was the most thorough. Not to mention error free."

"Yeah, that'll help your chances." Harry laughed. "Because every Knut counts."

Hermione grinned before she spoke in a low voice. "I can't wait to tell Severus."

"I'm sure he'll be thrilled for you. If you get something of a scowl or snarky comment, you know he's glad," Harry paused. "Or if he says something completely disparaging and acts like a general grump, you know he's absolutely ecstatic."

Hermione whacked Harry on the arm lightly. He clutched it, feigning agony with an over the top expression. Hermione laughed and shook her head.

"All right dears, breakfast."

A plate full of steaming food was placed right in front of them. Eggs, toast and some sliced fruit greeted them. Harry said, 'Thanks' and had made half of his toast disappear by the time Mrs. Weasley sat down with her own plate.

"Goodness, you must be hungry." Mrs. Weasley said.

"I didn't really have time to eat before we left." Harry explained before finishing off his toast.

"Meaning he slept in as usual." Hermione sighed.

Harry chose to keep eating, but his face went red. Mrs. Weasley tutted and started on her own breakfast. The sound of eating filled the kitchen for a moment before Mrs. Weasley spoke again.

"So Harry, what are you doing now that you're finished at Hogwarts?"

"Looking at different jobs. I'll start something in a year. I don't feel quite ready to go out and work."

"Are you sure that's a wise idea? Some of your skills might be forgotten and you might need to retrain."

"I'm sure I won't forget anything. I just want to make sure I pick the right job for me."

"Well, if you need something in the meantime, you should talk to Ron. He works at the Chudley Cannons training pitch. I'm sure he could get you a job there."

Harry nodded his head and stuffed his mouth full of eggs so he wouldn't have to reply.

"I don't think that's such a good idea," Hermione mused. "All those people going in and out of a Quidditch pitch, even if it is just for training… Harry would get mobbed, the Cannons would never get any decent training in… he'd be blamed for the complete and utter defeat of a Quidditch team."

"There is that." Mrs. Weasley mused. "But surely there must be something else."

"Maybe he needs something that keeps him constantly moving. Such as a foreign correspondent."

"A journalist?" Both Harry and Mrs. Weasley spoke at the same time.

"You'd get to travel a lot, you wouldn't be in one place all the time, plus your writing has improved vastly in the last three years. I think you could make a viable career of it." Hermione explained.

"Sure, if I write under a fake name," Harry muttered. "And never step foot into a newspaper office."

"Well, that's the only one I could think of on the spot, but there're loads of others. You just have to take the time and look unless you use a glamour spell to hide your appearance and take a job anywhere. But that can cause problems if you're not careful."

"I know," Harry said. "It's just really frustrating."

"Then who says you have to leave the house? I'm sure there must be some place you can work from that would let you work from home and send the work in by owl or Floo."

Harry opened his mouth to point out something wrong with that, only he couldn't find anything. That was a very good idea actually. If he could find a place that would let him work from home, that would solve a lot of his problems.

"I'll keep that in mind," he said after a moment of thought. "That's probably the most viable option that I'll have."

"There're plenty of options for you both out there," Mrs. Weasley said firmly. "If you know where to look."

"Heh, 'Mione's done looking." Harry said.

"Oh, have you now? Where are you working dear?" Mrs. Weasley turned her attention to Hermione now.

"Gringotts," Hermione replied, shooting Harry a look. "It's not a big deal really, just some small post and –"

"It's a big deal if Gringotts hires you; they're very picky about who works for them." Mrs. Weasley began. "You must have –"

"Mum? I'm back!"

Ginny's voice came from the living room, and Mrs. Weasley excused herself. Once they were alone in the kitchen, Hermione spoke.

"Thanks Harry," she said dryly.

"Not a problem," he replied. "Besides, you lucked out by Ginny's arrival."

Hermione subsided into grumbles as she speared her eggs with her fork. Harry laughed and turned his attention to finishing off the rest of his breakfast. He had just eaten the last slice of apple on the plate when a throat being cleared made him look up. Ginny was standing there with a slight smile on her face.

"It's been awhile since I've seen you Harry. You didn't even show up at the graduation ceremony."

"What can I say?" Harry said with a shrug. "I didn't feel like a big fuss."

Ginny's smile widened a bit more. "It's nice to see you again too Hermione."

"You look great Ginny." Hermione beamed. "Apparently we get to meet your new friend today."

"I guess Ron's been going on about her, huh?" Ginny grimaced.

"Not really," Harry said lightly. "Not if you count one little mini-rant."

Ginny chuckled. "She's in the living room now. I invited her to stay for the week and Mum's trying to figure out where to put her."

"Is Ron all right with that?" Hermione asked.

"He can deal with it." Ginny said with a shrug. "I just can't figure out why he doesn't like her. Sure he's been protective of me, but this is a bit ridiculous. He doesn't even like being in the same room as her."

"I'm sure Ron has his reasons." Harry said finally.

"Yeah, I wish I knew what they were." Ginny sighed.

"Ginny? Where are you?"

"Hm?" Ginny turned at the sound of the voice. "In here."

Harry and Hermione looked at one another as Ginny disappeared for a moment. When they looked back up, Ginny was in the doorway with a girl beside her. The girl was Ginny's height and a bit thin with sharp features, but she wore a large smile on her face. Her hair was a pale blonde colour with dark blonde highlights in it, while her irises were dark blues. Harry had a niggling feeling that he had seen her before somewhere, though he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"You guys, this is Octavia Miller. Octavia, these are my friends, Hermione Granger and Harry Potter."

"Nice to meet you both." Octavia bowed.

"Nice to meet you as well." Hermione said bowing slightly in return.

"Likewise." Harry said a moment later, inclining his head slightly.

"Ginny's told me a lot about you both. I'm hoping we can get along." Octavia looked between him and Hermione.

"Well, we'll do our best." Hermione replied.

Harry didn't say anything at all. Maybe it was just his imagination about the way Octavia was looking at him. It seemed like there was a triumphant gleam in her eye that vanished as quickly as it had shown up. And that made him a bit nervous; what possible reason could Octavia have for looking triumphant? Of course, that could just be him, and she was actually glad to have met Harry Potter in person. But for some reason he wasn't that sure that his first impression was all that wrong. He scrutinised Octavia closer making Hermione and Ginny watch him. An uncomfortable silence descended in the kitchen. Thankfully, it was broken a moment later.

"Hey everyone! We're back!" Ron's voice was loud.

"We have groceries!" Parvati's voice joined his. "Let's get cooking!"

Ron and Parvati stepped into the kitchen, immediately falling silent and looking around. Once Ron's eyes landed on Octavia, an expression of irritation passed over his face.

"Hey Harry, wanna help with these? There's a lot to do today." Ron said as he walked past Octavia and placed the bag of groceries on the counter.

"Do you need help with those?" Octavia asked Parvati.

"I do, but I also need to talk to Hermione about something," Parvati said in an apologetic voice as she rested her bag on the counter. "I'll let you know if I need help with anything else later on."

Harry made his way to Ron as Octavia nodded her head. Ginny threw Ron a dirty look and took Octavia's hand and they left the kitchen. Harry reached into the bag once he was close enough and started taking things out from it.

"Sheesh, what's she doing here already?" Ron groused.

"They got here a bit after we did," Harry said. "Ginny doesn't know why you don't like Octavia."

"Even I'm not too sure why I don't like her. She just…… I just can't stand her. Something about her, you know?"

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Harry said quietly. "Have you seen her before somewhere?"

"No, I haven't. I just hope nothing happens during dinner is all." Ron said finally. "Where's Mum? We can't get started unless she tells us what's being done."

"I think she's upstairs," Hermione said starting for the kitchen door. "I'll go get her."

"No, it's all right, I can go." Ron headed for the door as well.

"Do you have to be so stubborn? Just finish unpacking those groceries and by the time you're done, she'll be down here." Hermione vanished past the kitchen door.

"I can go find my own Mum in my home you know!" Ron yelled after her as he went through the door.

"Wow, some things never change," Harry said.

"Tell me about it," Parvati said as she continued taking out groceries. "They act like brother and sister."

Harry chuckled. "Hey, can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Do you know why Ron doesn't like Octavia?"

Parvati didn't say anything for a moment. "I can't really say. It was like seeing instant dislike. I'm sure she's a wonderful person, but there is something about her that makes me vaguely uneasy. I don't know what it is."

"Hm." Harry grunted.

"Why? Did Ginny ask you to find out or where you just curious?"

"Curious; Ginny said she couldn't figure out why Ron didn't like Octavia. But after meeting her… there's something about her that rubs me the wrong way."

Parvati nodded her head. "Well, I'll try to keep Ron from raising too much hell tonight. I know he wants it to be a nice dinner, but if Octavia is here, then all bets are off."

"I'll do my best as well." Harry replied. "Besides, between the two of us, I don't think it will be a disaster."

Parvati grinned and nodded her head once more. "I can understand why Ron is kinda of disappointed in her though."

"You do?"

"Yeah," Parvati nodded her head. "I mean, he was supposed to go to Auror school. They need good wizards badly; they're even hiring foreign wizards. Ron was a definite candidate, one of the best prospects apparently. But he realised how much his mum needed the help at home, he put his own plans on hold until Ginny graduates. And then Ginny turns around and throws it all back in his face by –"

That was all Parvati said as the kitchen door opened again and Mrs. Weasley strode in, rolling up her sleeves. Parvati closed her mouth hastily and turned her full attention back to the groceries.

"We have a busy day so let's get started!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed.

Before long, Harry, Hermione, Ginny, Octavia, Ron and Parvati were put to work, either in the kitchen or some other part of the house. Every so often, he would glance up and find Ron with a sour expression on his face. He found himself agreeing with Ron's earlier sentiment; he really didn't want anything to happen during dinner.

* * *

It had been a very long time since Lucius had actually gone to his lawyer's offices for any reason. Valerian was almost always on the go, so it was easier for him to stop by the manor when his services were required. So when he stepped out of the fireplace and was greeted by a polished desk in front of a wood panelled wall and a set of chairs by a window, he was fairly surprised. It had obviously been a long time since he had come to Valerian's office for anything. He approached the receptionist's desk.

"Ah, Mr. Malfoy," the receptionist said as he rose. "Valerian is waiting for you in the room at the end of this hallway," he gestured to the hall to the right. "Almost all the reporters are here now, so it shouldn't take long to get started. Once the last few arrive, I'll come and let you all know."

"Thank you," Lucius said, inclining his head.

He started down the hallway, looking at the slivers of light that shone from the gap between the door and the floor. When he reached the door before the one at the end, he paused. There were shadows flitting by, as if pacing anxiously. And judging from how often it was, and the muffled sound, the room must have been crammed full of reporters. It didn't make him feel any better, but he knew he was going to have to go through with it anyhow. Curling a lip, he continued to the end door. He saw that it was open a crack; he was about to push it open when he heard voices.

"Look, maybe this isn't the best time. This really can wait, can't it?" Tonks' voice sounded a bit apprehensive.

"No, I don't really think so. We've just been dancing around it for a good while now." Valerian sounded quite firm. "You remember what we were like when Lucius went to get his wand. That… tension won't just vanish away."

"Yeah, but it wasn't just… that. There was a whole bunch of other things."

"Of which are considerably less now. Why don't you just say it?"

"What's to say? My stupid idiot of a cousin blurted it out last night."

"Well, I'm glad he did because I thought it was just in my imagination."

"…You're kidding right? Even now when I look back, it's so obvious! I just wish Draco hadn't blurted it out. I swear, he doesn't think when he's royally pissed off."

"I think that may be the understatement of the year. Besides, do you really think I want to hear it from him? I'd much rather hear it from you."

"Well, you'll have to wait!" Tonks' sounded a bit flustered. "So long as we have to work together, I'm not creating a conflict of interest! That just might get me booted off! I don't want that!"

"Oh really?"

"Yeah! I like working on Lucius' case. He's much more decent that some of the scum that I get assigned to."

"You're related to him. Isn't that already a serious enough conflict of interest?"

"That is easily nullified by the fact that I barely knew him before I started on this case. And, considering my background, Lucius would have no grounds for wanting to know me at all. Of course I'd get to know him through out the duration of his parole. But what you want… it seriously has to wait."

"Oh, I know it has to," Valerian's sly tone was accompanied with footsteps. "I just want you to say it. How is that a conflict of interest? I certainly don't see how it would impact the working… relationship we have now."

"I… It's… Because…" Tonks' faltered for a moment. "Goddamn you! You and your bloody…"

"Logic?"

"Quicksilver tongue." Tonks said slowly.

"My, that's the most flattering thing anyone's ever said to me." Valerian practically purred.

"Sarcastic prat." Tonks grumbled. "I don't know why I bother with you."

"Do you want an answer to that?" Valerian asked in a sweet tone.

"No, I don't." Tonks replied a bit sourly.

"Excuses, excuses…" Valerian sighed. "Do you know you're cute when you pout?"

"Bwa!" Tonks sounded utterly surprised. "I think you have me confused with someone else."

"Do I?"

"Merlin, would you stop being insufferable!"

"Would you stop being so stubborn?"

"No! That's me!"

"And that's what I like about you. It really won't kill you to say it."

"No, but it'll probably jeopardise the case. I'm not backing down on this one."

"Then can I ask you for one little thing?" Valerian voice was interspersed with the sound of footsteps.

"What?" Tonks sounded a bit cross.

"This."

For a few minutes, Lucius couldn't hear anything. He furrowed his brow, wondering just what was going on.

"You know," Tonks began, sounding breathless a few seconds later. "You have a funny way of asking."

"It seemed much more appropriate that words."

"Uh huh, and since when did a tongue ever do _that_ when asking something?"

Lucius, who had been listening in silence, knocked promptly on the door. Salazar knew he heard enough for it all to make sense. Tonks made a startled sound before feet approached the door and it was flung open. Lucius found himself looking a purple and blue streaked haired, brown-eyed Tonks who looked mildly flustered. When he peered past her slightly, he found Valerian arranging files on a table.

"Is the room too warm for you?" Lucius asked, resisting the urge to smile.

"No, just a bit worked up." She said, sliding a look at Valerian. "But you're here on time and that's all that matters. Sorry I couldn't come pick you up. I was right tired after last night's episode. I'll make sure that notice conveniently vanishes away for a good amount of time for someone to forget."

Lucius waved a hand in dismissal. "Understandable. Now, is there any pressing matter that I should know about before I go to the manticores in the other room?"

"Nothing really," Valerian looked up from his files. "I'm assuming you read the article?"

"Thoroughly. Six times." Lucius replied.

"Excellent," Valerian gave a satisfied smile. "Do you want me present during the press conference?"

Lucius shook his head. "Though I have no doubt that you have some capable employee recording what it occurring."

"That's Cassandra for you. Always knows what to do. I don't even have to ask her."

Nothing was said for a moment, as Lucius noted the look that Tonks shot Valerian.

"Well, your receptionist said he would let us know when the rest of the reporters arrived." Lucius stated.

"Good," Valerian checked his watch. "Because Remus should be back at any moment."

"Remus?" Lucius looked at Valerian in surprise.

"Yes, Remus. He is responding on behalf of Loup Garou, since Ravenna is still at home asleep," Valerian said.

"I had thought she was going to be doing this herself."

"Not since she's been wearing herself out thin. Plus the full moon is approaching and she gets particularly exhausted a few days before she becomes very energetic," Valerian shrugged. "So Remus insisted on doing it in her stead. So far as I know, he doesn't suffer from the exhaustion like she does."

"Ah," Lucius simply said as he looked around to find only him and Valerian in the room. "Where did Tonks go?"

"Somewhere. I suspect she'll be back," Valerian tucked the files under his arm. "Besides, it's almost time to get this started."

"Nice to know you haven't started yet then."

Lucius looked back to find Remus walking into the room with a set expression on his face. Lucius nodded his head in acknowledgement before he looked back at Valerian.

"So why don't we go out there now?" Lucius asked, looking between Valerian and Tonks.

"Tonks feels it would be best if she was in there with you as well. There are still rogue Death Eaters out there. The fact that they are so quiet and haven't made a move yet makes her worry for your safety."

"Like a mother hen." Lucius sniped.

"Well, someone should, considering your current magical state." Tonks stepped back into the room briskly. "Just had to pop out for a second."

As if on cue, the receptionist's head appeared through the door. "All the reporters have arrived and are waiting in the room Sir."

"Thank you." Valerian said. "Well, I suggest you three get going."

Tonks nodded her head. "Remus, Lucius, ready to go?"

Lucius nodded his head and found Remus doing the same. She motioned them out the door and led them a few steps to the other one. When she opened it, there was an almost reverent silence from the other side as Lucius walked in, followed by Remus. Thankfully, no photographers were allowed and all cameras had been confiscated when the reporters had arrived at the beginning. Not that Lucius minded; Salazar knew the Daily Prophet had enough photos of him in archive that would be perfect to use on this occasion. Tonks closed the door and walked behind him and Remus up to the podium. He walked up to the podium and stood there as Tonks flanked him and Remus stood off to one side. He surveyed the reporters slowly, noting the Dict-o-quills poised over parchment.

"As many of you know," Lucius began slowly. "There was a recent article in the Quibbler, as told by a Miss Ginevra Weasley, that accused me of certain facts. I will state for the record now that I am not guilty of such acts. I have been tried by the fullest court of wizarding law and found innocent," he paused for a moment.

"Mr. Malfoy! Daily Pro-" a witch had practically burst upwards from her seat

Lucius held up a hand indicating silence and the reporter subsided. "However, should young Miss Weasley feel that justice has not been fulfilled, it would be in both our best interests if this were settled as thoroughly and as prudently as possible. I'm quite sure my trial cost plenty; a second one would be quite unnecessary. I have no desire to waste the court's time, delay much more important things or waste a wizard's taxes on something that proves to be useless. Now, are there any questions?"

"Troia Veridica! Daily Prophet!" the same witch as before jumped to her feet before anyone else even moved. "You claim that you would want this matter taken care of immediately. Would you be willing to take Veritaserum to prove your innocence?"

Lucius resisted the urge to make a face. The last time he took Veritaserum, he'd nearly died. He wasn't all that fond of the brew. "Yes," he hoped it didn't seem to long before he responded. "I would be willing to, so long as it is properly applied and the questions pertain to the matter raised."

"Rose Yasutoko! Witch Weekly! Is it true that you have married Severus Snape and are currently expecting a child?"

"For Salazar's sake," Lucius rubbed his temples for a moment. "Let me clear up this moronic rumour once and for all. I am not engaged in a romantic relationship with Severus Snape of any kind. The only relationship we have is one of platonic friendship, at best. While he may be able to persistently ignore the rumour, I am not him. And I am liable to sue for any more slanderous material of that nature should it arise again. Am I understood?"

The only sound that could be heard in the room for a few seconds was the sound of Dict-o-quills scratching away frantically.

"Mr. Malfoy! Elijah Goodkind! The Oracular! Are Miss Weasley's claims that Loup Garou is sheltering you true?"

"Eric Cambridge! Bombastic Monthly! If Miss Weasley's claims are true, why would a eminent werewolf rights group be sheltering someone who apparently doesn't suffer from their disease?"

Lucius narrowed his eyes at the man's implied statement. "I am not a werewolf. But on this matter, Remus Lupin, spokesman for Loup Garou will take the podium now." he stepped away and bowed slightly as Remus made his way to the podium. "Have fun." He whispered softly as the younger man passed by.

Remus slid him a look but didn't say anything. Lucius went to stand beside Tonks as Remus settled at the podium and cleared his throat.

"For starters Miss Weasley's claim that Loup Garou is sheltering Lucius Malfoy is false," Remus started. "So far as we know, he still owns his own property and manor and resides in it. If she implied sheltering of a different sort, then that is also false. The only involvement that Mr. Malfoy has had with the Loup Garou organization is a philanthropic one. If it weren't for his, and many others, generous donations we wouldn't be able to run the programs that we do or even be able to distribute the monthly dose of Wolfsbane potion free of charge to those who need it."

"Troia Veridica! Daily Prophet! You say you distribute free Wolfsbane. Is enough ever provided for all who come?"

"There is never enough Miss Veridica. Once we run out for the month, we run out; we do have a budget to follow. But we do have specially spelled rooms where people who are unable to get or afford Wolfsbane can come and safely transform. If the rooms are full we provide enough information to their family in order to fortify the strongest room in their house and minimise the possibility of transmission."

"Rose Yasutoko! Witch Weekly! Say someone lives alone; what is done in that case?"

"Usually, if they contact a Loup Garou centre, we will ask if they wish to have someone fully trained in dealing with transformations there with them during the full moon. If they select that, the volunteer goes and spells the room and locks them in for the night, and ensures nothing bad happens. If they don't want that, we provide them with information on how to perform the necessary spells by themselves."

"Marshal Byka! The Quibbler! Is it true that werewolves perform an annual fertility rite in Sherwood Forest?"

Lucius almost snickered when Remus stared at the man, absolutely floored. It seemed to take a few seconds before Remus composed himself enough.

"Er, no, there is no such werewolf fertility rite. There never has been. Ever." Remus gave the man a weird look. "Are there any more pertinent questions?"

"Troia Veridcia! Daily Prophet! How long has Lucius Malfoy's philanthropy towards your organisation been occurring for?"

"That is one figure I can't disclose, as per the contract drawn up when he approached us. But I am allowed to say that it has been for quite some time. Mr. Malfoy was gracious enough to allow us to name him as one of our benefactors."

"Sophie Maclean! Worldly Eye! Is there some reason why Mr. Malfoy didn't wish to be named before?"

"I believe that Mr. Malfoy should be fielding this question Miss Maclean."

And with that, Remus drew away from the podium, allowing Lucius space to walk up and speak. Lucius regarded the woman for a moment before he cleared his throat.

"I felt anonymity to be best since much of what I do is considered high profile. Being an anonymous benefactor would allow me to make greater contributions to the organisation and free both me and them from any sort of repercussions and hassling from reporters."

"Rose Yasutoko! Witch Weekly! By claiming anonymity in your donations to Loup Garou, have you been committing tax fraud, or has this all been perfectly legitimate?"

"I can assure you that it's all perfectly legitimate, and that I have committed no other crime that someone might think I have done. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a previous engagement that I must head off for."

And with that he stepped down from the podium and made his way out the door, ignoring the questions flung his way. Once Remus and Tonks were through the door he closed it firmly and made his way to the room at the end. Valerian was sitting in there at the desk, poring over some files.

"How was it?" he asked, not even looking up.

"Like all press conferences… more or less." Lucius said dryly.

"More or less?" Valerian looked at Tonks and then at Lucius and Remus. "Just what happened in there?"

"Some Quibbler reporter asked if werewolves performed an annual fertility rite in Sherwood Forest." Remus groused.

Valerian blinked before he coughed. A smile curled the corner of his lips and he coughed a bit more before he spoke. "Aside from that though, everything was successful?"

"For the moment, yes." Tonks said. "It's now up to Ginny as to what she wants to do."

"Quite right," Remus said absently as he looked at his watch. "Since we finished early, I shall be leaving now."

"All right; I'll have Cassandra send Ravenna a transcript of the press conference so she knows precisely what happened."

"Thank you." Remus said as he walked to the door once more.

"Where are you going?" Tonks asked curiously.

"The Burrow. They're having dinner and Hermione asked if I would like to come, since her boyfriend was busy with something else," Remus shrugged his shoulders slightly. "And it's been a while since I've seen them."

"All right then. I wish you luck." Tonks gave him a mock salute with a wide grin.

Remus smiled. "I'll see you later Tonks. Valerian, Lucius."

Lucius watched as Remus inclined his head slightly and hurried from the room. Once the door closed again, Lucius glanced at Tonks but didn't speak for a moment.

"Shall I assume that you must escort me back?"

"Yeah, sorry." She said in an apologetic voice as she rubbed the back of her head. "I know it's a pain in the ass, but I do have to be tracking your movements in a non-magical manner as often as I can. So that way, I know you're not deceiving me."

Lucius snorted as she rolled her eyes. "Yes, because heaven forbid that I should attempt to use potent spells with my dampened magic and flee."

Tonks laughed. "C'mon, let's get you out of here now then. Merlin knows those reporters are in there gossiping among themselves. You can slip out and they won't be able to corner you for anything more."

"A wise idea." Lucius said as Tonks hurried past him and opened the door.

"Now, if you don't mind me asking," she began as they walked down the hallway. "What is this previous engagement that you have?"

"Dinner. With Draco later on tonight."

Tonks made a grimace and sympathetic noise. "That should go well."

"Of course. Barring the fact that I had to order him to appear in the dining room tonight."

"Ouch," she winced. "He must be super pissed off at you."

"That hardly matters at the moment," he paused for a moment. "What matters is if he accepts it or not."

Tonks nodded her head as they walked into reception area. The receptionist smiled and waved goodbye to them as they stepped into the fireplace. A few seconds later they were stepping out into the main foyer of Malfoy Manor.

"Hey, Lucius." Tonks finally said.

"Yes?" he paused, looking at her.

"What if he doesn't accept it?"

Lucius didn't say anything for a long moment. "Then he doesn't accept it. But he will certainly have to learn to live with it."

"But if he has to learn to live with it, mightn't he grow to accept it?"

"I'm sure that's a hazard that Draco will easily see if he chooses to be stubborn and continue railing."

Tonks shook her head with a snort. "Wow, you're really going to leave him between a rock and a hard place, aren't you?"

Lucius simply shrugged. "Then I'm quite sure he'll be able to sympathise with you."

Tonks blinked and looked at Lucius in surprise. Then she narrowed her eyes. "Just when did you get to Valerian's offices?"

"I was there long enough to hear your little exchange." Lucius said finally.

"Bloody sneaky Malfoys," Tonks snarled as she stomped back into the fireplace. "No more eavesdropping, got it! Dear Merlin help me, I'm surrounded by insufferable men."

And with that, Tonks threw down the Floo powder and disappeared in a burst of green flames. Lucius smiled and then headed for his study. He still had some time before Draco arrived. And, even though Draco already knew, Lucius still had no idea what he was going to say to his son.

* * *

Harry was absolutely miserable at this point. The only thing that seemed to be keeping him sane at the moment was Hermione and her tranquillity amidst the silent storm that raged around them. But it was grating on his nerves and making him irritable. They all were at the kitchen table, chopping up vegetables that would invariably make their way into the dishes being prepared. The only problem was that Mrs. Weasley had assembled them in order of who could do what best. So what ended up happening was that Ron was chopping cabbage beside Octavia who was slicing up some carrots. Ginny was sitting on Ron's other side and systematically peeling and dicing her way through a mound of potatoes. Harry was sitting beside Hermione, chopping the onions while Hermione was shelling the peas with Parvati. And everyone was doing it by hand.

Mrs. Weasley, sick of the bickering and thrown hexes that quickly erupted between Ron and Octavia, and everyone else getting in the way, had set everyone to work at the kitchen table, under her scrutinising eyes with the warning that no one was to talk at all or use magic. It didn't help that Ron was fuming silently and pointedly ignoring Octavia and the dirty looks Ginny threw at him. And Parvati kept glancing down at Ron every so often with a nervous look on her face. And Ron, Ginny and Octavia were on one side of the table while Harry, Hermione and Parvati were on the other.

The way Harry saw it Mrs. Weasley was lucky that Ron was managing to hold his temper for so long.

He sighed heavily, and earned a sharp glance from Mrs. Weasley. When she saw that no one was talking she turned back to what she was doing. Harry had a sinking feeling dinner would be like this, only with a thoroughly confused Mr. Weasley, amused twins and a curious Charlie, Bill and Percy added. A slight stinging sensation in his eyes made him pause. The spell was wearing off again. He drew his wand and quickly recast it. Thankfully, Mrs. Weasley had told him about the spell before he started chopping. Otherwise, there would have been a lot of tears mixed in with these onions.

If there was one thing Harry hated, it was chopping onions. They were hard to peel, slippery, stank and stained your fingers if you chopped enough of them. He'd chopped enough onions at the Dursleys and now he was stuck here chopping up a whole bag of them and it was taking him forever.

"Harry dear, are you having some trouble with those?" Mrs. Weasley asked, looking over his shoulder.

"I'm –"

"Oh!" Mrs. Weasley looked up suddenly. "Sounds like someone else has arrived!"

Harry watched as she disappeared from the kitchen. "What the hell?" he said a moment later. "I didn't hear a thing."

"Mum's got hearing like a bat," Ron said sullenly, staring at his cabbage.

"I would expect that she knows what to hear for in her home." Parvati added.

"You think she'd hear when Ron badmouths my friend." Ginny muttered.

Ron's face flushed but his lips tightened as he glared at Ginny. "Look –"

"Hun, maybe you should pay attention to the cabbage, hm?" Parvati said cutting him off. "Don't want to chop off one of your fingers, do you?"

Ron snapped his mouth shut and looked back at the cabbage. Ginny gave a derisive snort and went back to the potatoes. Harry glanced at Parvati to find her looking at Octavia from the corner of her eyes. Harry looked over at the girl and found her placidly slicing carrots with a small, smile on her face. If Harry didn't know any better, he would have sworn that Octavia was pleased with all the tension at the table.

"Ron!" Mrs. Weasley called from the living room. "Would you come here for a moment please?"

Ron was already halfway to the door when Mrs. Weasley was done talking. Once he was gone, Ginny snorted again.

"Is something wrong Ginny?" Hermione asked quietly.

"Oh, nothing, just how Mum favours him so much more now." Ginny said in a disgusted voice.

Harry watched as Hermione didn't say anything for a moment and jumped in. "Aren't you glad that she's not paying as much attention to you now? That means a little bit more freedom, doesn't it?"

"Besides," Hermione began. "Don't you think you're being a little bit harsh on him. Ron's probably given up a lot to do as much as he can. He's working and helping out around the house. I imagine that even you're benefiting from it."

Nobody seemed to notice as Parvati and Harry glanced at one another, knowing what else Ron had to give up.

Ginny's face flushed slightly. "Yeah, my brother, the Quidditch pitch and broom keeper for the Chudley Cannons. Real proud of that."

Hermione stared at Ginny in shock before she opened her mouth to reply but Harry shook his head slightly. Hermione didn't say anything but made a highly disapproving sound. True, Ron's job wasn't nearly as interesting as Bill or Charlie's, or as remotely demanding like Percy's, but he never thought that it would have mattered to Ginny, let alone that she would say something like that. He glanced over at Octavia and saw that her smile was… smugger. He blinked. He had to be seeing things; what kind of friend would be happy to see their friend badmouthing a sibling?

"You might as well go over there and help Harry with those onions. He's pretty slow at it."

Harry looked up to find Ron pulling a chair from the cupboard and enlarging it. Hermione and Parvati scooted their seats over to make enough room. Harry didn't notice any of this. He was too busy staring at the new arrival. He knew it did very little good to stare so, but seriously this was the last person he was expecting to see here. Or even wanted to see.

"Hey, Hermione, Parv, budge over. Give Seamus some room so he can help Harry with those onions. We're almost done and Harry's the only one that'll be left behind."

And with that said, Ron brought a chair over and plunked back into his seat and focused on chopping the cabbage again while Mrs. Weasley came back in and continued whatever she was doing. Hermione glanced at Harry but moved down when Seamus pulled the chair up a bit. Once the chair was settled comfortably at the table, Mrs. Weasley brought over a knife and chopping board for Seamus and once more silence reigned in the kitchen. It wasn't until the sound of feet stomping loudly in the living room came that Mrs. Weasley gave an exasperated sigh and stormed out to see what was going on.

"Hi Harry." Seamus said a few minutes later, breaking that silence.

Harry simply grunted in reply.

"You never showed up at the graduation ceremony," Seamus added.

"I didn't go," Harry replied curtly. "Couldn't be bothered with the fuss."

"Ah, I see." Seamus said finally.

Harry was acutely aware of everyone else at the table watching him and Seamus, expecting them to say something more. But he fixed his gaze on the onions, resolutely chopping. One by one, he could feel the glances leave him and he felt a bit more at ease. But every so often, he would feel eyes on him and he would look up. Seamus always looked away quickly, chopping his own pile of onions a bit too intently and with a slight telltale flush on his cheeks.

"Dear me, busy today," Mrs. Weasley sighed. "Are you seven almost done? Charlie's just arrived and I need some hands to help him degnome the garden."

"Again?" Ron sounded peeved. "I just degnomed it a few days ago!"

"That was over a week ago Ron dear," Mrs. Weasley said. "And you did a fine job. But we certainly can't eat in the backyard with all those gnomes there."

"Fine, fine. I'm almost done with the cabbage." He grumbled. "Just how many gnomes are out there if you need so many hands?"

"Far too many. I might have to call Murble's to take care of our gnome problem." Mrs. Weasley sighed. "When you, Hermione and Parvati are done I want you to go help Charlie."

"What about us Mum?" Ginny asked, reaching for her last potato.

"You and Octavia can go find the table cloth. You know the red one dear?"

"Yup. Where is that one any way?"

"Somewhere in the linen closet," Mrs. Weasley turned to Harry and Seamus. "And once you two get finished with those onions, you can go to the attic and get the big table."

"We don't really need the big table Mum." Ginny protested.

"I think we do dear," Mrs. Weasley said. "We have fifteen people sitting down to eat. That's a bit too much for our kitchen table to handle, even with the proper spells."

Ginny nodded her head and continued dicing away. One by one everyone finished off their vegetables and went off for their assigned tasks. Once Harry reached for his last onion, Mrs. Weasley stopped him.

"I'll take care of this. You and Seamus go look after the table."

Harry nodded his head in relief and rose. "What about the ghoul in the attic?"

"Just keep a bright light with you; he doesn't really like bright light. A good strong Lumos spell will be fine." Mrs. Weasley was already finished chopping up Harry's last onion and reached for Seamus' last three. "Just shrink it and bring it down. We'll set it up when they're done in the backyard. I suspect they might be awhile though."

Harry nodded and hurried out the kitchen and up their stairs, Seamus close behind him. He didn't say anything, but Seamus seemed intent on talking.

"How do you know where the attic is?"

"Ron showed me when I was here for a bit in summer." Harry said curtly as he reached the top landing and walked down the hallway and stopped halfway down.

"Last year?"

"Before second year."

"Oh."

"Move back a bit. The ladder kind of bangs when it comes down."

Seamus nodded and took a big step back. Harry only moved back a bit and drew his wand, jabbing it at the door imperiously and saying, 'Alohomora'. The door swung open and the ladder came banging down, only a step away from Harry. He looked back at Seamus who grinned. With a snort, he started walking up the stairs and into the attic.

"Lumos!" he said as he stepped onto the floor.

Bright light burst from his wand and there was a scrabbling sound away in the back behind some boxes. Well, the ghoul was the least of their worries for the moment. He stepped aside as Seamus came up beside him, drawing his own wand for light as well.

"So, a big table, right?"

Harry nodded his head as he looked at the cloth-draped shapes, most piled on top one another. "It might take us a bit."

"Nah, c'mon, we'll get this done quick." Seamus said, wandering off towards what looked like a promising shape.

Harry followed after him a bit reluctantly. Harry left his wand lighted while Seamus shifted the boxes with his. They moved some boxes aside, only to move them back when what they thought was the big table proved to be otherwise. It was surprising just how much stuff was crammed into this attic. When they'd made their way to the middle of the room and were moving boxes from what would hopefully be the big table, Seamus spoke again.

"Harry, why didn't you come to the graduation ceremony?"

Harry didn't reply for a moment. "I told you already."

"Harry," Seamus said after a moment. "What's the real reason. I'm not buying the 'too much fuss' line."

"Well, that's the reason. If you don't like it, then there's nothing I can do about that."

Seamus stopped moving the boxes and looked at Harry for a long moment. "You were avoiding me, weren't you."

"Don't be ridiculous." Harry snorted. "Keep moving those boxes."

"You've been avoiding me since that day in the school. I don't get it. Was it that bad when we were together?"

"No, it wasn't," Harry began. "But –"

"Oi! You two found that table yet?"

Harry looked back at the sound of Ron's voice echoing up into the attic. "I think so. Give us a moment!"

Seamus had a distinctly miffed expression on his face as he quickly moved the boxes off. They whipped the cloth off and found that they were looking at the big table. Harry outed his Lumos, forcing Seamus to light up his wand. Quickly, shrinking the table, Harry grasped it in his hand and made his way out of the attic.

"Was starting to think the ghoul got you both," Ron chuckled.

"You degnomed the garden awfully fast," Harry said as Seamus climbed down and he shut the attic door again and locked it.

"It wasn't as bad as Mum made it out to be," Ron said with a shrug. "We've got to get the table set up and then Mum wants us to cast a few spells to make sure everything's right."

Harry nodded his head. "What time is it?"

"Um, just after four. We're eating at five." Ron said. "That's why Mum is getting kind of anxious. There's still loads of stuff to be done and apparently Hermione's boyfriend isn't here yet."

He isn't coming; he was too busy. She invited Remus instead."

"Professor Lupin is coming instead?" Ron demanded. "Does Mum know about this?"

"Yes, she does."

"Um," Seamus began. "The table isn't going to set itself up outside you know."

"Right, right," Ron said absently. "Come on, we'd better get moving before Mum thinks we've skipped out."

They all headed back down the stairs and out into the backyard. Even when they were outside, joking and laughing with Charlie and Bill and the two girls they had on their arms, who had arrived when they were up in the attic at some point, he could still feel eyes on him. Every so often when he glanced up, he found either Seamus or Octavia looking at him intently. There was a small part of him that would be very glad when this dinner was over and he stepped out of the fireplace into his own apartment.

* * *


	30. Chapter 29

_**Come the Maëlstrom**_

_Chapter Twenty Nine_

The dining room had been host to many strained silences. But nothing before could compare to the one that Lucius was now enduring with Draco seated at the table, eating the appetisers with a stiff expression on his face. Despite the good three hours that Lucius had to mull over the situation, he couldn't think of anything remotely appropriate to say; coming up with something on the spot didn't appeal, but it was what he would have to do. They continued eating in silence until the appetisers were finished. Once a light soup appeared before them, Draco finally spoke.

"I presume you didn't invite me here merely for company," his son said in a polite and distance voice. "What is it that you want Father?"

"To discuss something with you."

"And what would that be?" Draco asked in a sarcastic voice.

"The manner in which you behaved last night."

Draco's head turned slowly and Lucius found incredulity in Draco's eyes. That was the one thing that bothered him about Draco's reaction, but it was minor compared to the larger issue glaring down at them. Of course, Draco had always overcompensated for his overreacting with a ridiculous amount of politeness and decorum afterwards. One would think he would be shocked first and then angry. But, then again, his son always had a rather unique personality.

"Forgive me, I'm still wondering what the proper etiquette is for catching one's father in bed with an… acquaintance."

"Proper people do not resort to screaming wild accusations when seeing an 'acquaintance' in bed with a family member," Lucius replied primly. "Granger and Severus acted correctly."

Draco's lips tightened momentarily. "I am not most people. Nor Professor Snape and certainly not Granger."

"Indeed," Lucius said dryly.

They started eating in silence once more. The occasional clink of silverware against china echoed faintly in the living room. Lucius glanced at Draco every so often to find the boy staring pointedly at his soup as he ate it with a peculiar determination.

"So," Draco said suddenly as he paused for a moment. "Now that you've had your fill of Potter, I assume you're done with him."

Lucius coughed slightly and hastily swallowed a few spoonfuls of soup to combat the sudden dry tickle at the back of his throat. It wouldn't do for it to become full-blown laughter, particularly in this situation. Lucius spent the precious few moments chiding himself. He was supposed to be addressing this seriously, not snickering like a first year at some comment that he found unintentional lewd humour in.

"No," Lucius said slowly. "I am not 'done' with him, as you delicately put it."

"I see," Draco's face flushed slightly and Lucius supposed it was with anger. "And just when will you be done with him?"

"I don't think I will be." Lucius said bluntly.

Draco gave a derisive snort. "I'm not an idiot. It's always been simply sex with you. Potter must be very good."

"I want to make something very clear here," Lucius said after a moment. "It is not just sex between us."

"You don't mean to say that you're actually in a relationship with him."

Draco gave a harsh laugh but Lucius simply remained silent, regarding Draco. Draco's laugh died off as he took in Lucius' reaction and he spat out an expletive, throwing down his spoon.

"For Mordred's sake Father, he's my age! He's old enough to be your son!"

"I realise that." Lucius said calmly, before eating a bit more soup.

"Is that why he skipped out on the graduation ceremony? Because I wouldn't be here and…" Draco trailed off, obviously not wanting to complete that train of thought. "So… this has been occurring since he graduated?"

Lucius looked at Draco for a long moment and didn't say anything. An almost horrified light started to appear in Draco's eyes, his mouth opening. Lucius gave a heavy sigh; he at least owed Draco the complete truth, for once in his life. Draco had been startlingly frank in these past weeks with him, and the least he could do was extend the same courtesy.

"Before." Lucius said simply.

"So after the Dark Lord was defeated?"

"Before."

"A few months before the Dark Lord was killed?"

"Before."

Lucius took in the surprised expression on Draco's face that was followed by something that could only be defined as suspicion. Nothing was said for a moment as Draco watched Lucius for a moment and then spoke in a supremely commanding tone.

"Just how on Earth did you manage to sneak into the school then?"

Lucius simply looked at him. Draco made a frustrated sound, running a hand through his hair.

"Was it before that as well?"

Lucius nodded his head and confirmed it with a, "Before".

"There is no possible way you could have met Potter before." Draco declared finally with a hint of belligerence.

"Isn't there?" Lucius asked archly.

Draco looked taken aback before he fell into thought. It didn't take long as Draco studied Lucuis, not saying anything for a long moment.

"Spain." That was the only word that he said.

"Correct." Lucius said.

"Potter claimed that he was alone."

"A very wise move; he would have been facing an entirely new set of problems had he admitted to spending a prolonged amount of time with my 'undue' influence. And undoubtedly, there were many factors after that as well."

"Such as?" Draco demanded, as if he didn't believe it.

Lucius arched an eyebrow. "I'm quite sure you're capable of using your own brain."

"And I want to hear you say it." Draco retorted quickly.

Lucius didn't say anything for a moment. He would… humour Draco for a little while. "Obviously, it would be automatically assumed that he was being coerced by me in some manner; Dumbledore would more than likely feel that I had altered with his memory some how. He might have erased the entire episode from Harry's mind. But, providing that the senile fool did nothing about that, Harry would constantly be guarded against the Dark Lord in some manner and the other Death Eaters. Even later on at the trial, his efficacy as a witness might be called into question, as I would have undoubtedly 'tampered' with him and –"

"Very well, you made your point Father." Draco grumbled.

"I fail to see why you are so discontent," Lucius said mildly. "You neglected to mention your relationship with Blaise for a good while. I only found out about it when you revealed that you would be moving to Italy with him. I, if anything, had much more reason to throw a fit."

Draco's face went a bit pink at that statement. "Fine. We both had our reasons."

"Of course. Had I known you would react so adversely to this I would have gone to much greater efforts to keep this simply between Harry and I."

Draco tightened his lips and picked his spoon back up. Nothing was said for a few minutes as they ate.

"Greater efforts?" Draco repeated in a peculiar tone.

"I'm positive you can understand the context I was speaking of."

"Are you two only doing this to rile up the Wizarding world?" Draco asked, regarding Lucius intently.

"I imagine that might come later on. If we want a laugh." Lucius gave an amused smirk.

Draco's eyes widened for a second before they narrowed. "I'm failing to find the humour in this situation."

Lucius waved a hand in light dismissal of the subject. "That's because it's not for you to concern yourself with at the moment."

"At the moment?" Draco gripped his spoon tightly. "Implying that I will have to look after something later on. I'll tell you right now Father, I will not clean up after your sordid little…"

Draco trailed off at the end of the sentence as Lucius gave him a very icy look of displeasure. Lucius watched as his son swallowed slightly and immediately turned back to the soup, electing not to say anything else for the moment. All in all, Lucius thought that was a very good idea. Draco had just skirted the edge of some very dangerous territory. They finished their soup, leaving the empty bowls to vanish away. When the main course appeared before them, Draco picked at his brisket and roasted potatoes. Lucius had no doubt that he was carefully planning on how to best broach the subject once more. Of course, Draco was trying to convince himself that this was some sort of affair and would eventually end; that much was easy to see. And Lucius knew it would do no good if he tried to force the simple fact on Draco; the boy had to come around to it in his own time.

"The Dark Lord must have ordered you to seduce Potter, get into his bed."

"That would be plausible, barring one simple fact." Lucius conceded. "The Dark Lord is dead and has been for a few months now. If that were true, there would be nothing binding me to that… order."

"He died once. For all we know, he could be biding him time out there."

Now, honestly, Lucius felt a trifle offended at that. Was the belief that he was doing this under the deceased Dark Lord's orders that much preferable to the option of him and Harry being together?

"I somehow doubt that." Lucius said frostily.

Draco pursed his lips slightly and picked at his brisket. "Then I commend you on finding a clever way to secure your own skin. Since Potter's so attached to you, he won't want you to end up in Azkaban."

"I see," Lucius said after a moment of thought. "Should I believe that you subscribe to the garbage that the Quibbler published as well?"

"No," Draco said with a scowl. "But one never knows how those judicial wizards and witches operate. What could be more iron-clad than having the Boy-Who-Lived as your… lover? Any one trying to convict you would take one look at him, listen to his plea and you'd be a free wizard."

Lucius frowned in displeasure. "I do believe I was found innocent during my first trial. And I have no intention of sitting through that Weasley's accusations in court once more. We will discreetly settle this outside of court, whether she prefers it or not."

"And if Potter sides with the Weasleys?"

"Then that is Harry's choice."

Draco scowled once more and returned to picking the brisket with his fork. Lucius resisted the urge to smile; Draco seemed very determined to find some other plausible explanation to account for finding him and Harry in bed together. Now that he stopped to think about it, he could understand why Draco and Blaise were there, but it didn't account for everyone else's presence.

"Fath –"

"What were they all doing there?" Lucius asked abruptly.

Draco blinked in surprise. "I beg your pardon?"

"I can understand why you and Blaise were there. Why was everyone else?"

"Because of that wretched article; they were looking for you. Valerian suggested that we go looking for you in the house," Draco had a fairly displeased expression on his face to accompany a wrinkled nose. "And that woman –"

"Ravenna." Lucius supplied.

"Seconded that idea. Hence us finding you… cavorting," there was a nasty insinuation behind it. "In bed with Potter."

Lucius didn't reply for a moment. "I've had enough of that from you," he said quietly. "No more."

Draco didn't reply, turning his attention to the brisket and picking it to shreds. Lucius watched him for a moment before paying full attention to his own meal.

"Potter didn't give you anything to eat or drink that tasted funny, did he?"

Lucius arched an eyebrow at Draco's abrupt words. "No, he did not."

Draco subsided into a thoughtful silence, finally eating some of the meal on his plate. Lucius turned his attention back to his meal after a moment. Draco certainly wasn't done with his speculations, and Lucius had a feeling he was in for a very long, and fairly quiet, dinner.

* * *

Harry wished Ron hadn't stopped by his apartment that day; he could be at home, happily curled up on the couch, watching a movie or maybe doing some reading. Hell, he could have seen what Lucius was up to and possibly gone out on a date. But here he was sitting at the dinner table outside, surrounded by the swirl of conversation; he found it safer to only really look at either his dinner plate or at Hermione and Parvati. They seemed to be the only supportive ones.

Mrs. Weasley was busy chiding Fred and George for something while Mr. Weasley was deep in conversation with Remus, Percy and Bill. Charlie was trying his best, in his difficult position, to mediate between Ron, Octavia and Ginny. Each of the three was trying to get him on their side now, since Harry had pointedly ignored them and their earlier attempts. Ron assumed that Harry would side with him as had Ginny, while Octavia kept making what he could only call 'googly eyes' at him. That wasn't quite the right word, but it was the closest thing he could think of; Octavia had a very annoying habit of staring at him, and very intently too. And while he thought he could at least have Parvati and Hermione for company, they had been seated between Katie and Angelina, who Fred and George had respectively invited along. On either side of Katie and Angelina, sat Charlie and Bill's dates, which were chattering away happily in the cluster of females. And the most he got from either of them was a sympathetic look in his direction, since the other four girls were almost continually talking.

He was essentially shunted to the side. And that he didn't mind. Or rather he wouldn't have minded if he hadn't been stuck with Seamus. And Seamus was eating with only one hand. His other one was prone to roaming upwards on Harry's leg underneath the table. Harry kept swatting it away, but it returned insistently as always. Finally, in the end, to retain something of his own sanity, he firmly placed Seamus' hand on his knee, in the hope that would satisfy the other boy. Seamus tried to move it up once but Harry had surreptitiously slipped his fork beneath the table for a moment and jabbed Seamus with it hard. There had been a muffled yelp from Seamus and his fork clattered against the plate, but it was lost in the din of talking. Seamus' hand didn't wander after that and stayed in its spot. Not that Harry was thrilled with that, but better that than Seamus trying something later on.

Dinner seemed to drag on for an eternity and Harry didn't think it would have been over soon enough. Once everyone sagged back in their seats, patting their bellies in repletion, Mrs. Weasley stood up and surveyed the tables.

"So, who wants to help me clean up?"

A massive wall of protest rose almost immediately. Though at that point, Harry would have taken any job that got him away from Seamus' roaming hands and Octavia's unnerving stare. Mrs. Weasley gave everyone a hard look.

"Fine. Harry, Hermione, Parvati, Ron, Ginny, Octavia, Seamus, you can run along since you helped prepare dinner."

"Mum!" Fred sounded scandalised.

"You make it sound like we didn't help at all!" George sounded affronted.

"Oh, and how did you help?" Mrs. Weasley asked in a tone that dared them to try any line.

"Er, but we would be more than glad to help you out. Because –" George began.

"We'd do anything for dear old Mum." Fred finished.

"All right, come on you lot, kitchen." Mrs. Weasley said briskly.

There came some half-hearted moans from the table as most of the older adults rose and shuffled off to the kitchen. That was all except Remus however. He came over and stood behind Harry's chair, peered over and smiled.

"Do you have a few moments to spare?" Remus watched him.

"Yeah, no problem."

Remus stepped away from the back of the chair and Harry slipped out from it as quickly as possible. And before Seamus could say anything or possibly invite himself along, Harry was already hurrying along the worn garden path leading out the gravel driveway in the front of the house. Remus was behind him. Harry didn't stop walking until he reached the end of the path by the main road, where a rusty and obviously unused postbox sat.

"Are you all right?" Remus asked, the gravel crunching beneath his feet as he came to a stop. "You look a bit strained."

"I'm fine. I could have done without Seamus attempting to grope me underneath the dinner table though." Harry groused as he crossed his arms.

"I see," Remus coughed politely with a small smile of amusement. "Lucius sends his love."

Harry was still fuming so it took a few seconds for the words to sink in. He turned and looked at Remus a bit stupidly, unsure if he was hearing right.

"Come again?" Harry said slowly.

"I don't want to risk saying it again, but Lucius sends his love." Remus said with a smile.

"Oh… erm…" Harry went red. "So what did you want to talk to me about?"

"How have you been holding up?"

"Pretty good. I've been keeping myself busy in my flat."

"Good. But I hear you haven't been going out much; becoming a hermit isn't the answer you know."

"I know that Remus. It's just that this whole situation with Ginny may end up dragging me back into the spotlight. That's part of the reason why I didn't bother with the graduation ceremony."

"Well, your guess certainly was right. There was a very long ceremony with medals and awards handed out. You, Ron and Hermione received an award for forming the DA."

"Seriously?"

Remus nodded his head. "Dumbledore felt it was only fair to acknowledge the fact that you three started it in fifth year."

"Hermione did most of the work really, organising lesson plans and guiding us in the right direction; me and Ron just gave some input and taught the stuff," Harry said, scratching the back of his head. "Besides, I just want some time for myself. That's not asking for too much, is it?"

"I certainly don't think so; but you should keep other people's feelings in perspective." Remus said frankly. "Until we received that owl from you saying you were fine, we were very worried. I'd even go so far as to say frantic."

Harry nodded his head a bit absently and crossed his arms slightly. "I know; Hermione gave me a tongue lashing for that. And I really am sorry, but I didn't see any other way to make a clean break. Besides, it did give me some time to think without someone attempting to influence me in some manner."

"Ah," Remus rubbed the back of his head. "And did you find the answers you were looking for? Assuming that you decided to find answers on your own."

"I did," Harry affirmed as he shifted, dropping his arms and hooking his thumbs in the jean pockets. "I need a quieter life, with someone who won't pressure me for certain things."

"And you're sure that person is Lucius?" Remus asked after a moment.

Harry looked down as he scuffed his shoe against the gravel, kicking up dirt. "I know he's not perfect; he's done things that are reprehensible. And maybe that's part of my attraction to him; I know what he's capable of and he didn't shy away from it. He told me the truth himself, even if it was in summation. I know it's a difficult subject for him and I value the fact that he told me. He could have lied through his teeth and fed me something else."

"How do you know that he really did tell you the truth?"

Harry didn't say anything to that, simply looking at his dirtied shoes. He could still plainly see the slightly evasive and pained expression in Lucius' eyes as he recounted that night that sealed his fate as a Death Eater and the family and young boy who had died on the coast of Dover. No, Lucius would not lie to him about something like that, much less make it up.

"Try to understand where I am coming from Harry," Remus said a moment later. "I don't mean to offend you but surely you realise that this question would have been raised eventually."

Harry opened his mouth to speak but ended up shrugging helplessly. "I… It's… I just know."

"All right Harry. You should realise that you'll probably have to answer some harder questions than that if more people find out about you and him."

"I know, I know," Harry finally looked upwards, at the dusk and setting sun. "I need to get away from here, from England."

"Move away from England for good?" Remus asked after a moment.

Harry nodded his head slowly after a moment. "That was Lucius' suggestion. And I agree with it. I want to spend more time with him uninterrupted or without people snooping or condemning him or me for being together. I mean you and Hermione and everyone else have been great about it but the rest of the wizarding world… that's a different story."

"Harry, in this entire situation, that is one thing that I can truly understand." Remus replied with a grin.

Harry gave a grin of his own as he glanced at Remus. "I suppose my main concern now would be to try and see Lucius, and then the both of us coming up with a more concrete plan of how to handle things. We have a pretty good idea of what we're going to do after this entire mess. But navigating through the media circus that's bound to come and make sure that it doesn't impact us in a bad way… that will be a challenge"

Remus didn't say anything for a long moment. "You've been giving this some serious thought."

"Yeah," Harry nodded. "In between almost everything else that's been floating around in my head."

"Well, I still have some responsibilities to attend to at Loup Garou. But surely you wouldn't mind if Tonks or I stopped by with one other guest to keep you company for a bit."

Harry gave him a puzzled look for a moment before his eyes widened with comprehension. "You would do that?"

"I believe it's the least I can do to make you happy." Remus said with a seemingly nonchalant shrug. "Just make sure you fix your Floo; it would be terrible if Ron came over and saw something he probably couldn't handle."

"Thanks. I was starting to think that I would have to talk to Tonks to see if she could turn a blind eye for a bit."

"She's been awfully busy at the Ministry lately; she might miss something for a good four days or so. For all we know, it might just make her life that much easier."

"You're the best, you know that?" Harry finally pronounced with a wide grin.

Remus smiled. "I'm sorry I didn't get to visit you as much as I would have liked. With work and tying up –"

"That's all right," Harry waved a hand in dismissal. "I'll bet me disappearing from school and holing myself up for a while didn't help in that department, did it?"

"No, I can't say that it did," Remus laughed. "Maybe I could get a telephone installed so you can call. That might make it easier."

"That would be great actually. I don't know why I didn't think of that before. I'm pretty sure I've got 'Mione's number floating around somewhere. Might have to see about Ron though."

"Then that's settled. We worry when we can't get in contact with you. Especially since we don't know your exact address. If anything, this should get Dumbledore off my back for a bit. Just call once a week and all is well."

Remus clapped him on the shoulder and Harry grinned. They started back towards the house, still talking about this and that. When they stepped back into the warm house, they found everyone scattered in the living room in small clusters. Mrs. Weasley looked up as they entered.

"Well, I was wondering where you had disappeared to." She finally pronounced with a disapproving sniff.

"I had to talk to Harry," Remus said simply. "I felt it should be addressed sooner rather than later."

Mrs. Weasley's gaze swung to Harry now with a fervent curiosity. "Really?"

"Yeah. It was a bit… er… personal." Harry mumbled, feeling his face go red for some reason beyond him.

Mrs. Weasley's expression softened and she nodded her head. "Well, there's just enough room for you on the couch there between Octavia and Seamus. Remus, you can sit beside Arthur."

Harry nodded his head and sat down in the spot. Both Seamus and Octavia looked absolutely delighted with this arrangement. That was until they caught the expressions on the other's face. Harry sighed mentally as he noticed the dark looks being exchanged on either side of him. Call him crazy, but it seemed that Octavia's glare was a bit more malicious, like she could whip her wand out right that instant and hex him to goop. Seamus looked ready to make her vanish to some place far and uncomfortable, like the Sahara Desert. What made it even worse was that the conversation continued in full swing, and no body seemed to notice the small glaring contest going on.

He had sunk back against the seat, resigned to ignoring Octavia and Seamus when Ginny's sharp words caught his attention.

"And just what do you mean by _that_ Charlie?"

An eerie silence suddenly descended over the living room as almost every set of eyes swivelled between Ginny and Charlie. Charlie looked distinctly uncomfortable for a moment, rubbing the back of his neck before he took a deep breath, as if steeling himself. Ginny's lips were pressed tightly together and there was a rapidly spreading flush on her cheeks. Ron, on the other hand, was looking sullenly at the carpet and picking at it as if he was attempting to restrain himself.

"I think you know precisely what I mean Ginny."

"So you think what I'm doing is stupid and useless," she asked tightly. "How nice to see that you care so much." Her voice was laced with a slight hint of sarcasm.

"Ginny, I do care. But, I think you made a claim," Charlie finally said carefully. "Without thinking of the repercussions it would have on every one else."

"Ah, so I'm selfish."

"I didn't say that –" Charlie began.

"Damned right you are!" Ron interjected. "You meet her," he pointed an accusing finger at Octavia. "Practically right after you leave Hogwarts for a break before starting seventh year and next thing I know you're acting all weird on us."

"That tired thing again?" Ginny gave a dismissive snort. "I keep telling you –"

"What you tell me and how you act are very different things Gin." Ron said harshly. "And I'll tell you one thing, I can't figure it out."

"You don't have to figure it out," Ginny spat coldly. "You just have to know that I am getting justice for Nev and Dean by making sure their murderer ends up in Azkaban."

Harry watched as Ron's eyes softened slightly. Then Ron rubbed his face briskly and when Harry could see his eyes again, they were snapping and resolute.

"And have you even stopped to consider the sort of justice that Malfoy will dish out as well?" Ron said quickly. "Didn't you read his rebuttal to those rumours about him and Snape? They were in every paper under the sun! He'll go after anyone who slanders him. You keep this up and –" he stopped abruptly.

"I'll what Ron?" Ginny said in a dangerous voice, rising to her feet. "Go on, say it!"

Harry shifted nervously in his seat, glancing at Seamus. Seamus was watching the unfolding events a bit anxiously. When he looked over at Octavia, her eyes seemed a bit too wide and the corners of her mouth were jumping a bit oddly. It looked like she was resisting the urge to smile in pleasure. Harry decided it was much less disconcerting to watch Ginny and Ron duke it out, not to mention much less confusing.

"You keep this up and you'll ruin us all! Malfoy won't quit until we don't have a Knut left!"

"And you'd rather that the thieving, filthy scum get off scot free!" Ginny bristled.

"No I don't!" Ron bellowed. "But I don't want to see us all ruined and even worse off than we are now! Things are finally starting to look up and now you've gone and jeopardised it all!"

"What would you know?" Ginny sneered in derision.

"I know that I'm working just as much as Bill and Charlie and Percy so life can be a bit easier; and I know Mum's glad to have the extra Galleons. Something like that should fit in perfectly with your new view on things."

"Hm, I didn't think the Quidditch pitch keeper for the Chudley Cannons would know about somewhat subtle implications."

Ron's face paled and his lips tightened as he crossed his arms. "Well, it's nice to know your true colours then Gin."

Ginny narrowed her eyes and walked closer to Ron. "And what would that be?"

"Green and silver. Don't know why you were a Gryffindor. A selfish, bigoted bitch like you would have fit in perfectly in Slytherin."

The next thing Harry knew, there was a flurry of motion, a slapping sound followed by a yowl as Ginny struck Ron and he reacted, making them both fall to the floor. Everyone was on their feet in an instant, scrabbling forward to separate the two. Octavia and Percy were pulling Ginny off of Ron and ending her attempt to throttle him. Ron sat up with Hermione and Charlie's help, his face bright red and haggard coughs coming from his throat. Ginny had a livid expression on her face. Harry looked around nervously before he slipped off the couch and made his way to the kitchen.

Even from there he could hear Ginny demanding to know where the others stood and if they supported her and her decision. Harry could hear plenty of neutral answers. And those same answers seemed to enrage Ginny more since her voice became louder and louder and more belligerent.

"Dodged a bullet there." Harry sighed in relief as he slipped out into the back; the more distance that was between him and Ginny's rage now, the better.

"Harry?"

He managed to stifle a curse as he heard Seamus' voice from the kitchen. He was looking frantically from side to side, trying to find somewhere to hide when Seamus' head popped out from the kitchen door. Harry sighed and looked back out at the night sky. The stars were just starting to come out and he focused on searching for constellations rather than looking at Seamus directly. The whole attempted groping incident was still very fresh in his mind.

"Don't blame you from ducking out of there." Seamus chuckled. "Ginny's going for blood in every quarter."

Harry simply grunted in reply. He could just make out Orion's Belt and the Big Dipper off to the northeast of the sky. So that meant he should be able to see Cassiopeia and Pegasus off to the southwest. So maybe in a month or so, he would be able to see Ursa Major and Minor in the southeast quadrant.

"Harry, can I ask you something?" Seamus asked quietly as he came leaned against the wall, standing beside Harry.

Harry nodded his head, still looking at the sky. He never thought he would resort to astronomy to avoid looking at someone.

"You know, you didn't answer my question."

"What?" Harry's brow furrowed. "What are you talking about?"

"In the attic," Seamus said, leaning forward slightly and looking at Harry. "I asked you if it was that bad when we were together."

"No, it wasn't. But that was then Seamus. We were both fifteen and curious. It wouldn't have lasted." Harry replied; was that hint a bit _too_ subtle?

"But this is now. And I do still have feelings for you. Even when we broke up because of everyone blabbering about us, I still thought about you." Seamus paused for a moment. "Are you mad at me?"

"What possible reason would I have to be mad at you?" Harry demanded sarcastically.

"All right, maybe I had that coming. I shouldn't have acted like that at the dinner table… or that day in the hallway come to think of it. I just couldn't take it any more. I wanted you to see me like… that again, and not as a friend."

Harry sighed and closed his eyes, pressing his index and middle fingers against his temples. If Seamus had been any other person, Harry could simply have said no and that would be the end of it. But Seamus was stubborn to a fault and unless Harry did something quick, he would find himself with a, yet another, unwanted admirer. Now the trouble was that his brain refused to yield any information or solution of any kind.

"I should go see how Ron's doing." Harry said abruptly, pushing off the wall.

Seamus wasn't having any of that apparently. He moved and stood directly in front of Harry, grasping Harry's arm. Harry fixed his gaze just past Seamus on a chipped brick of the house.

"Why the hell won't you look at me?" Seamus demanded. "You're avoiding me like I'm the worst thing to happen to you!"

"Merlin, you're not Seamus. And you are an awesome guy. But this won't work out."

"How can you even say that before we give it another try?" Seamus demanded.

Harry sighed closing his eyes. He knew perfectly well why. Lucius just might have a definite apoplexy and settle for nothing less than Seamus' blood if he found out. Seamus' brown eyes were boring into his and Harry squirmed a bit uncomfortably. Seamus was far too close for comfort.

"Look Seamus –" he began.

"Fine, be that way! I've had it with you! I hope you get dragon pox and burst into flame!"

The backdoor door banged open and Ron stormed out, a black expression on his face. Seamus looked up startled and Harry stepped to the side, slipping his arm from Seamus' hand. He hurried up to Ron.

"You all right?" he asked.

"What do you think?" Ron spat. "I have a bitch for a sister who managed to make everyone totally miserable! And she's still here for a few more bloody days! I can't stay in the same house as her! We'll kill each other first! Or maybe she'll send in," Ron took a deep breath before he bellowed at the open door. "Octavia, her little lap dog!"

A furious and muffled reply could be heard from inside as well as the sound of scuffling. Harry took a deep breath and stood between Ron and the door. He placed his hands on Ron's shoulders and looked him square in the eye.

"First of all, you need to calm down Ron." Harry began. Ron gave some vehement protest to that and Harry let him rant for a bit before continuing to speak. "Why don't we go somewhere that you can blow off steam?" Ron muttered darkly at that. "Look, you don't have to stay here."

"And just where am I going to go, huh?" Ron demanded in a snappish tone. "Parvati says her parents don't even know we're dating yet, so I can't ask to stay with her!"

"They don't?" Harry blinked in surprise; he would have thought Parvati would have at least mentioned Ron to her parents by now.

"No, they don't. She said something about them wanting her to marry a respectable wizard, meaning one with loads of Galleons."

"I'm sure Hermione will –"

"Are you nuts? She'll drive me nuts with some analysis about what I said and how bad it was and that I should stick my foot in my mouth and apologise to Ginny. I'm telling you right now that I won't! I meant every bloody word I said in there."

Ron started gesturing madly and Harry grabbed his hands; Ginny could probably hear what was being said and if she came charging out, he didn't want Ron to be able to reach his wand quickly.

"Then you can stay at my place for a few days. At least until you cool down."

Ron made some grumbling noises that Harry took to be agreement. He breathed a sigh of relief and let go of Ron's hands.

"Then we'll go somewhere so you can blow off some steam and then you can come back to my place. I'll firecall for some of your stuff, all right? Sound like a plan?"

"Yeah, yeah," Ron said sullenly. "Look, I'm going to the Quidditch pitch."

"I don't know where that is." Harry said simply.

"Fine, we'll Floo there together." Ron said curtly as he started for the door.

"Ron," Harry called after him. "Don't let Ginny rile you up all right?"

Ron's lips tightened slightly but he didn't say anything. Harry shook his head and started after Ron. That was when he looked around the backyard once more and realised that Seamus was missing. Even as he walked inside behind Ron, making sure to avoid eye contact with Ginny and Octavia, he looked around quickly; Seamus wasn't there either. Harry breathed a sigh of relief as he squeezed into the fireplace beside Ron. A moment and handful of Floo powder later, they were hurtling along.

When everything stopping being greenish and whirling, Harry found himself in a small sort of atrium with four hallways. One was marked off 'To Changerooms', while the other ones read 'To Pitch', 'Equipment Room' and 'Pitch Office: Manager, Team Bookings & Sign-In'. Harry looked around at all the closed doors.

"Er, are you sure we should be here at this time?"

"It's fine. It's a pitch for all to use, but since the Cannons use it, no other team comes near it. They have today off from training," Ron said, drawing his wand. "Besides, it's not the first time I've done this."

"Done what?" Harry asked, realising almost immediately as the equipment room door opened, revealing a gleaming row of broomsticks.

"Flown on the brooms," Ron said curtly as he walked in and grabbed two Firebolts. "The team captain said he didn't mind if I went for a small flight every so often," he stuck a broom in Harry's hands. "Now let's go."

Harry followed Ron apprehensively but once they mounted the brooms and kicked off into the sky, he felt it melt away, along with everything else that had been weighing a bit too heavily on his mind lately. Maybe a ride on a broomstick was just what he needed too.

* * *


	31. Chapter 30

_**Come the Maëlstrom**_

_Chapter Thirty_

To be honest, Lucius was not quite too sure what to make of Valerian's offices. It wasn't that he thought them unpleasant in any manner; they were tastefully done and were very bright using windows and whatnot. It was more the fact that he was not very accustomed to actually being _in_ them for any indiscriminate amount of time, especially a conference room. The fact that he had to be here because of a Weasley did not help him in the slightest. That the Weasley in question was sitting right across from him with a barely veiled murderous look on her face… focusing on Valerian's office space and décor effectively distracted from the infuriating manner that Ginevra Weasley was glaring at him, and detracted from the urge to simply hex her. Plus there was Tonks sitting by his side, so that helped lessen that particular urge, even if only slightly.

Finally, bored with taking in the décor, Lucius turned his attention to the other lawyer. His hair was combed back and his face still had, of all things, baby fat. This lawyer was barely out of law school. He probably just passed the bar test. This was probably his first case. Valerian would chew him up and spit him out. At least Lucius could count on some sort of amusement during the very dry proceedings.

"When did Valerian said he would be getting here?" Lucius murmured, leaning in closer to Tonks.

"Sometime about noon," Tonks replied. "So he should be here any moment."

"Good. It won't be soon enough."

Tonks chuckled lightly. "What makes you say that?" she asked, her voice still low.

"I would certainly hate to violate my parole and create more work for you." He said quietly, sliding an oblique glance at Ginny. "Plus I have no doubt you'd be put out with me."

"I certainly would be," Tonks smiled. "After that great big whack of trouble with all those spells the first time, I should hope you'd learn something." She jabbed his shoulder playfully.

Lucius could feel Ginny's eyes on him and allowed the faintest hints of a smile come to his face. Let her muse on that for a while. He continued talking with Tonks for a bit longer. When the door creaked open, he glanced up and saw Valerian enter.

"You know," Lucius mused. "I don't pay you to be late."

"You don't pay me for a lot of things." Valerian quipped flashing a smile around the room. "Sorry I'm late. I came directly from the Wizengamot Archives."

"And what could you possibly be doing there, hm?" Ginny's lawyer asked dryly.

Valerian paused and looked at the other, head cocked before he walked over and offered his hand with a grin. "Been a long while since that day in the classroom, hasn't it Alasdair?"

"So you do remember me." Alasdair beamed as he rose and shook Valerian's hand briskly. "I'm definitely looking forward to this."

"Is there something I'm missing here?" Ginny asked, looking between Valerian and Alasdair in confusion.

"I lectured for a month in Alasdair's law class three and a half years ago," Valerian said as he took his seat beside Lucius. "And I had the distinct pleasure of being engaged in a debate by this young man here."

"The pleasure was all mine," Alasdair smiled.

Valerian chuckled as he sat down. "Even though he's just passed the bar, you found yourself an excellent lawyer Miss Weasley," he set out his files and papers briskly. "So, shall we get down to business?"

"I couldn't agree more," Alasdair replied. "This will more than likely take a long while to hash out."

Valerian made a wry grunt. "Well, quite frankly, I think your client's claim is a waste of time. She could be finishing up her studies and Lucius could be serving out the rest of his parole in peace. Why should we even take her 'claim' seriously?"

Lucius watched as Ginny swelled up at the implication behind the word 'claim'. Alasdair obviously was prepared for this, since he reclined somewhat in his seat.

"She lost both her lovers that day. And she believes that your client is the guilty party. I'm quite sure that if Mr. Malfoy is proven innocent, then she will drop all charges and continue her search for the guilty ones." He smirked. "Besides, you took it seriously enough to issue a public reply to it."

"Simply damage control," Valerian shrugged. "But Lucius' words still hold. As… displeased as he is with this, he is willing to co-operate so he can enjoy some peace and quiet again."

"Well, Miss Weasley is looking for peace and quiet as well, body and mind. Her demands are quite simple."

"Oh?" Valerian asked in a deceptively mild tone. "And what would they be?"

"That he submit to the Aurors and a full questioning via Vertiaserum. Then appropriate action will be taken from there."

"Should I even start as to where I object to that?" Lucius asked icily.

"Hiding something Malfoy?" Ginny spat.

"Miss Ginevra Weasley," Lucius said, barely masking the sneer in his voice. "I have much better things to be doing that parleying with you and your lawyer; and I am quite sure that Valerian has other things that won't waste his time as much. You've managed to waste everyone else's time but your own by this stunt of yours. This is the most you will get from me on your terms. Consider yourself indulged."

Ginny simply scowled at him while Alasdair looked unfazed. Lucius met her gaze and a few moments later, she looked away from him, a flush creeping over her face.

"Well, I am quite sure you can understand Lucius' hesitancy about this," Valerian said with a placating gesture. "The last time he endured a questioning by Aurors under Veritaserum, he became ill and almost died."

"An unfortunate set of circumstances, I'm sure," Alasdair began. "But there are precious few options left if he wishes to avoid Veritaserum. There are mirrors and books."

"My concern is that Miss Weasley is out to slander Lucius' reputation completely. What guarantee can you give me that the Aurors will be completely unbiased?"

Alasdair frowned. "Impartiality potions aren't very admissible in court unless done by a reputable Potions Master. And Mr. Severus Snape is currently busy teaching still. A foreign Potions Master won't be looked upon well in an English court, since potion making varies from country to country; it needs to be a native Potions Master and Mr. Severus Snape is the best one."

"Then perhaps a mirror can be used in conjunction with the testimony obtained from Veritaserum," Valerian suggested. "It will simply corroborate Lucius' story and end this farce of a lawsuit."

"Farcical as this situation may be," Alasdair began in a somewhat withering voice. "I can easily subpoena Severus Snape to provide us with the Impartiality Potion; that would help us forgo the hassle of utilising a mirror or the like."

Lucius and Valerian looked at one another in surprise. Lucius managed to cover up his snicker but Valerian broke out in howls of laughter. Alasdair's brow furrowed in bewilderment as he looked at everyone else in the room.

"Oh, _that_ is the first thing that should be taught in the expert selection class. That is such a mistake," Valerian said wiping away tears from his eyes. "Even at Lucius' trial, I didn't subpoena him; he came voluntarily. That's the best way of getting something easily from him: by his own volition. I made the mistake of subpoenaing him once… I didn't ever go near him again after that; it cost me too damned much and my pocket was hurt badly. Yeah, I wish you luck in getting him to make that Impartiality Potion for you; you'll be floundering the red tape he throws your way."

"I should assume he gets many requests to brew potions for one reason or another." Alasdair asked a vaguely disappointed voice.

Valerian sniggered. "You bet. And everyone expects the best brew quickly at the cheapest cost. Well, Severus Snape certainly doesn't skimp on quality. And when he brews something, he'll use the finest ingredients that cost Galleons, some that need to be imported and cleared by the Ministry that could take months."

"Then I'll subpoena him and make sure everything is expedited at the Ministry." Alasdair said simply.

"Hm, you really did just graduate from the bar." Lucius murmured in vague amusement; this new twist amused him to no end, but he wasn't about to make that obvious.

Alasdair's face flushed slightly. Valerian shook his head, even as his shoulders still shook with suppressed laughter.

"Some things have to wait a while because they don't immediately display dangerous properties. So the Ministry has a standard wait time for ingredients like that."

"And the Impartiality Potion is only good for two weeks and then it's useless."

"Precisely," Valerian coughed to clear his throat. "So I'm quite sure that rules out the Impartiality Potion. And you clearly understand Lucius' aversion to Veritaserum let alone being questioned by biased Aurors. What can you offer in the way of compromise?"

"Maybe Lucius won't _have_ to take Veritaserum again."

Every single pair of eyes shifted to Tonks in surprise.

"Are you saying there's another way?" Lucius asked finally.

Tonks squirmed in her seat slightly. "Well, yes, but I don't think Ginny's going to like it."

"What is it?" Ginny asked after a moment.

Tonks took a deep breath and muttered something about, 'wizards that watch too much Muggle television'. "You're really not going to like it."

"Miss Tonks, please," Alasdair said. "If it can solve this problem, then good; I have a sneaking suspicion that this will become long and drawn out over details of what's to happen."

Tonks closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Well, someone got the bright idea from watching a Muggle television show. Something from America, I don't know what it is."

"And it's relevant how?" Valerian asked watching her intently.

"It's relevant because Lucius won't have to do any talking whatsoever." Tonks said, a tinge of nervousness in her voice.

Valerian, Alasdair and Ginny looked absolutely stunned. Lucius simply frowned, mulling this over; what could possibly be done so that he wouldn't have to talk?

"What would have to be done though," Tonks took a deeper breath, steeling herself. "Would be to dig up Neville and Dean's bodies at Hogwarts."

A stunned silence filled the room. Well, Lucius certainly hadn't been expecting to hear that; what could two dead people possibly say? It wasn't as if their ghosts were still lingering around to solve this once and for all.

"How dare you!" Ginny said shrilly, standing up abruptly. "They're dead! Let them rest in peace!"

Alasdair rested a hand on Ginny's shoulder, urging her to sit back down. She did so, glaring at Tonks the entire time. Alasdair whispered something to her and she seemed to calm down somewhat

"Now," Alasdair began quietly. "Why, in Merlin's name, would we have to dig up Neville Longbottom and Dean Thomas?"

"It has to do with a Muggle science called forecs. No wait, that's not it. Forcers… no, forceps, no, that's not it either."

Lucius watched as Tonks started muttering to herself with a crease in her brow.

"Forensics!" Tonks suddenly crowed in triumph. "That's it!"

"All right then Tonks; then what does this 'forensics' consist of?" Valerian asked.

"Well, Muggles use forensics to explain how people died and what killed them. That usually leads them to who killed the person. What some witch and wizard team thought of doing was using it to identify witches and wizards who had been killed during the war by Death Eaters and bringing their killers to justice by magical signatures."

"This sounds relatively new," Alasdair mused. "Has it been used before? Would it be admissible in court?"

"It's about a year and a half old. But it's been used in court loads of times, so there's plenty of precedent. I would have to say –"

"You're _not_ digging up Nev or Dean!" Ginny screamed shrilly. "You can't! I won't let you!"

"As you were not married to them, that choice does not belong to you," Lucius said coldly. " That lies with their parents."

"Lucius is right," Valerian said. "If we choose this option, then we'll go to the parents and ask for their permission. That's beyond your right Miss Weasley."

Ginny had gone an ashy colour. Lucius resisted the urge to smirk but a tiny one slipped out. The girl just had some legal common sense beaten into her. Hopefully there would be more things to stop the uppity Weasley.

"So how exactly does this procedure work? Has it ever been wrong?" Alasdair demanded.

"Well, so far as I know, a curse, especially one that kills, leaves traces of the caster's magical signature, even after the person's been buried. The stronger the curse and its caster, the longer it takes to dissipate. So what they do is have the person in question cast a spell, then they do something to the body and then compare the results." Tonks paused. "So far, I've seen perfect matches, with virtually no error at all."

"But you admit that there's room for error." Valerian said, pouncing.

"I guess. Look, all I know is hearsay; owl Sir Percival Eddings and Mathilda Fisher for a more detailed explanation of how it works." Tonks said, throwing up her hands. "They're the ones that came up with it."

Lucius watched as both Valerian and Alasdair made a note of those two names. "So we're pretty much right back to where we started, aren't we?"

"I do believe so." Alasdair murmured in slight exasperation.

Lucius sank back into his seat and rubbed his brow slightly. This was going to be a long and frustrating afternoon.

* * *

"Harry, there's nothing to do."

"Try reading Ron."

"I'm tired of reading! I just got back from work; isn't there anything else more fun that we can do?"

"Watch some tv."

"I got bored of that telly thing."

Harry made a slightly disgusted sound as he looked up from his book. "Then take a nap."

"This late at night!" Ron sounded absolutely scandalised.

Harry closed his book and looked at Ron who was sprawled over the other end of the couch. "Then go out and do something."

"You'll come with me then?" Ron looked at him eagerly.

With a heavy sigh, Harry placed his book on the coffee table as he nodded his head yes. Since Ron had come here, his quiet routine had been majorly disrupted. It wasn't that he minded Ron being there… but Ron was awfully loud. And considering the fact that it was now the end of the week, Harry was starting to hope that Ron would be heading back home soon. After all, Ginny still couldn't be there.

"So where are we going?"

"I don't know. We haven't had dinner yet and I know a good pub down the street." Harry said as he rose, heading for the front door. "A lot of college and university kids go there."

"That sounds great. Hey, you think we should invite 'Mione?"

"Nah," Harry replied as he jammed his shoes on and slipped on a light jacket. "Besides, if she's not there, no one will get mad if we get some drinks."

"Serious?"

"Why not? You seem awfully intent on having a good time tonight." Harry shrugged. "Besides, she just might be out on a date tonight."

"Good point," Ron mused as he got on his coat and shoes. "You know, she still hasn't told me who this mystery bloke is. Any idea?"

"Er, no, not really." Harry replied; he really didn't have a clue why Snape and Hermione, of all people, had hooked up, but he wasn't about to stir up trouble for them. "You?"

"I wouldn't be asking you if I knew." Ron snorted.

Harry chuckled lightly as they stepped into the hallway and Harry locked the apartment door. As they started walking down the hall towards the elevator, Harry caught Ron staring at the walls.

"Something wrong?"

"It just so… bare, like they never finished what they were supposed to."

"You're supposed to see the bricks Ron. And they're supposed to look like that; it's the style."

"Half done shoddy Muggle work is a style now?" Ron looked at him in surprise. "Your flat is so great and then you come out here and it's ugly. I mean, who wants to look at dirty mortar and crumbly brown bricks?"

"The mortar's grey and the brick is supposed to look that way." Harry explained, coming to a stop in front of the elevator button and pushed the little square.

Ron still gave a disapproving sniff. "I still say it's half done shoddy work."

Harry laughed as the elevator arrived with a clang. "You can't win them all Ron."

Ron grumbled and stepped in the elevator after Harry, eyeing the walls a bit uncertainly. "We couldn't have taken the stairs?"

"Ron, do you remember what happened the last time we took the stairs?" Harry asked in an amused tone.

"Fine, fine, fine." Ron grumbled as the door closed with a metallic bang and the elevator started down with an abrupt jerk.

Harry stared straight ahead and smiled. On Ron's second day here, they'd been taking the stairs to the ground floor when something had crawled up his arm and stopped on his neck. After Ron's impromptu tumble down two flights of stairs and mad flailing about for a few minutes or so, Harry had to stun him and take a look. It was a gecko. All it had done was stare at him and lick its eyes innocently. He gently pulled it off Ron's neck and then woke him. The he had to walk up to the fourth floor to the flat above his and explaining that the gecko got loose. After that, Ron had avoided the staircase like a plague.

Harry was chuckling to himself when the elevator arrived with a dull clang and the door rattled open. Ron looked at it warily as he stepped out. Following after Ron, Harry watched as his best friend looked at some of the Muggle contraptions warily. This had to be Ron's first real foray into the Muggle world and it was kind of amusing to watch.

The noise from the street hit them like a wall as they stepped outside. Harry zipped up his jacket and stuck his hands in his pockets. It was a lot colder than he had thought. Ron had taken it one step further and hunched his shoulders, with a grim set to his jaw.

"How far was this pub?" he asked a few minutes later.

"Not that far; it's just down the street." Harry said. "You'll warm up quickly when you're there, promise."

Ron subsided into grumbles and Harry focused on walking. He didn't think it would be any more helpful to be laughing at Ron, at least not until they had a few drinks. The pub was noisy and they had to wait a bit before they were shown to a small table for two people. They settled down and Harry couldn't help but notice that Ron looked a bit nervous.

"Something wrong?" he asked, leaning in to be heard over the chatter.

"Well, it's just that… are you sure we can drink here? I mean, it's not like we can… legally."

"Yeah, we'll be fine. If you act nervous, they're going to catch on. So just let me order, all right?"

"What if you get something I don't like?"

"Then what do you like?"

"I really don't know, since they probably don't have butterbeer. Give me a minute." Ron replied before disappearing behind the menu.

Harry did his best to not make some comment as he quickly looked over the menu and made his choice. Just when Harry wondered if Ron would have to be rescued from his menu, the redhead set it down with finality.

"I'll have the Salisbury steak and a pint of lager." Ron said with finality.

"Then I'll get the server," Harry said, raising his hand and resisting the urge to laugh.

Once their orders had been taken, Ron relaxed back into his seat with a smug, and slightly relieved, look on his face. Harry shook his head.

"I'm guessing this is the first time you've done something like this?"

Ron nodded his head. "I thought we would get into so much trouble."

Harry simply gave a shrug. "Hey, can I ask you something?"

"Sure. Go right ahead." Ron said sitting up and paying attention.

"I wanted to ask about Octavia because," Harry added on hastily once he saw the familiar scowl on Ron's face. "I'm trying to figure out why Ginny's friends with her."

Ron didn't say anything for a long moment. "Well ask something, would you."

"Where did Ginny meet Octavia?"

"King's Cross. Apparently she's a Squib and her older sister had just graduated from Hogwarts. I saw her and Ginny talking on the platform when me and 'Mione got off the train."

"So they only met a couple of months ago." Harry frowned. "Isn't it kind of odd that Ginny's told her so much so fast?"

"You don't know the half of it," Ron sniffed in disdain. "If she wasn't a Squib, I'd think Ginny was under some sort of spell."

Harry frowned. "What makes you say that?"

"The way Ginny's been acting lately…that's all Octavia's influence. You remember after Percy came by the school and talked to her? She was actually getting better. She didn't mope around as much, she was happy, she smiled and laughed… we had Gin back. And, not even a month, after meeting Octavia, she becomes bitchy, egotistical, and bigoted… I don't understand it. I've been trying to tell her, Charlie practically threw it in her face and she's still carrying on like this."

"What do you mean by bitchy exactly?" Harry asked a moment later.

"There's a difference between being assertive and being a bitch, and a mean, spiteful one at that; even I know that much. You heard what she said that day after dinner." Ron snorted. "This isn't the Ginny I grew up with. If I could just get rid of Octavia, I'm sure Ginny would come around."

"Neville and Dean's death shook her pretty hard you know," Harry said quietly. "Maybe all that bitterness is only coming out now."

"Yeah, I know," Ron stated softly. "And I thought of that. But I remember what she said that day in the memorial garden before we went down to the train…" he shook his head.

"What did she say?" Harry looked at Ron intently.

Ron gave a snort and shook his head. "She told me that she was finally feeling better and that she'd probably die old and alone but at least she'd been happy once. She also said that she wished she's gotten a better look at who _had_ attacked them, so she could do more for Dean and Neville."

"Wait a minute, 'who had attacked them'? She didn't get a clear look at who did it?"

Ron shook his head. "In all that chaos, it's not surprising. Now, I don't like the man, but it was completely out of the blue when she started pointing the finger at Lucius. Not to mention dangerous, considering what the man can possibly do."

"Something's not right about this."

"I know. And honestly, it doesn't even feel right. But I can't do a single thing about it."

"Maybe you can't, but I can certainly try," Harry replied, rubbing his chin. "There's something off about this entire thing."

Ron nodded his head glumly but perked up suddenly. "All right! Dinner!"

Harry looked up to find a plate being slid in front of him and a glass of wine being placed down. Ron's steak and pint were placed down as well, but Harry was a bit puzzled by Ron's obviously curious expression.

"Since when did you drink wine?" Ron said finally.

"Since it tastes better than beer." Harry replied as he picked up his fork.

"Since when have you had beer?" Ron demanded.

"A while ago in Spain." Harry suddenly gave a wicked grin. "Have I got a scarring story for you."

* * *

"Are we finally done here?" Alasdair asked, rubbing at his face wearily.

"Yes, I do believe so." Valerian said, throwing his quill down on the parchment.

Lucius made a soft sound of relief while Tonks gave an enthusiastic 'Finally!' before slumping in his seat.

Valerian took a deep breath and picked up a sheet of parchment. "All right, so the terms are as follows: Mr. Lucius Malfoy is to appear in private court on the 31st of October in order to undergo questioning via Veritaserum by the Aurors under the supervision of his parole officer, Miss Nymphadora Tonks, a Wizengamot judge to be named at a later date, and his lawyer, Mr. Valerian Slean Nihilare. Prior to this, Mr. Lucius Malfoy will appear at the laboratories of Sir Percival Eddings and Mathilda Fisher in order to undergo magical signature forensics for compatibility between his magic and that which killed Mr. Dean Thomas and Mr. Neville Longbottom pending approval from the parents. Once Mr. Lucius Malfoy has given his testimony, Miss Ginevra Weasley will undergo the same procedure, barring the test for compatibility of magical signature. Should Mr. Lucius Malfoy feel that there is a bias present and the question of impartiality arises, alternate methods shall be pursued, of which are: questioning by Aurors with a Wizengamot judge to be named at a later date and the supervision of his parole officer, Miss Nymphadora Tonks and his lawyer, Mr. Valerian Slean Nihilare. The compatibility test will still be admissible, however, both parties, Mr. Lucius Malfoy and Miss Ginevra Weasley, will be given the option of the Reliving Mirror. Should it be proven that Mr. Lucius Malfoy is innocent, then Miss Ginevra Weasley will drop all charges and this case will immediately come to a close. Furthermore, she will maintain a respectable distance of at least twelve feet away from Mr. Lucius Malfoy's person in any public space. In regards to his properties, she must be a full kilometre away. Owling, firecalling, sending an acquaintance in her stead, or any other various means of communication be it by magical or Muggle means is strictly forbidden. Should she violate any one of these conditions, she will find herself fined in upwards of a minimum of 100 Galleons or more, depending on the severity of her actions."

Valerian gave the parchment it was all written on a pained look as he rested it on the table again. Lucius rubbed the bridge of his nose with his eyes closed. Ginny had fought him to the bitter end over every single detail. But he had told her that everything else would be on his terms. He knew the restraining order would be necessary; should things turn out in his favour rather than hers, he didn't want to be stalked by a angry Weasley in any manner whatsoever. He glanced up at the youngest Weasley and she look pale and livid; it was as if this entire day had been one ordeal that smacked her around. That was precisely what he was hoping for. At least fortune had smiled on him this time.

"Now then," Alasdair began, looking at Ginny and Lucius. "You both agree to these terms? It would make this much easier if you signed it and a judge saw that you both reached an amicable conclusion." He had a sardonic look on his face. "It could even help speed up the process."

In all honesty, Lucius didn't blame the man. Ginny had stormed, raged and threatened him throughout most of the afternoon while he'd made sniping, vicious comments. Both Valerian and Alasdair were forced to play peacemaker multiple times before any sort of dialogue could continue.

"If anything, I daresay they might be impressed and more lenient in your situation." Alasdair muttered.

Lucius frowned slightly at that; it sounded like that comment was mainly directed at him.

"You both agree?" Valerian demanded as he rested his elbows on the table.

Lucius nodded his head. "I agree. The conditions are fair enough."

"Don't you even begin to think that those conditions are fair! You left me no choice but to take your–" Ginny bristled.

"Ginevra," Alasdair interrupted loudly. "We've just spent a good seven hours wrangling with this. Given Lucius' position, he is being _very_ generous with you. I would definitely advise you to accept them."

Ginny looked at Alasdair and then at Lucius before she swallowed hard and gritted her teeth. "I accept."

"Good. Lucius, sign right here please." Valerian said, sliding the parchment his way and pointing to the line.

It didn't take Lucius long to sign. Once Ginny had signed hastily, she rose stiffly and stalked from the room. Alasdair packed up quickly, asking Valerian to send him a copy of the agreement once it was approved by a judge and hurried out after her.

"Christ!" Valerian exclaimed once the door shut. "I've never seen two more stubborn people clash like that."

"I'm surprised it actually ended at a decent hour. It could have gone on much longer if you and Alasdair acted like those two." Tonks replied, rubbing her stomach before she spoke plaintively. "I mean, you didn't even stop to get a snack or something. Aren't you hungry Lucius?"

"Not particularly." Lucius replied with a shrug.

"I'm absolutely starving." Valerian pronounced before he looked in Tonks' direction. "Would you care to join me for dinner Tonks?" he had a slightly hopeful look on his face. "Purely for the purpose of further discussing work of course."

"Of course, I would love to," Tonks grinned. "Right after I pass off this stubborn bastard here."

There was a momentary light of thoughtfulness in Valerian's eyes for a moment. "Today's Friday, isn't it?"

"It is," Tonks grinned. "So Remus should be waiting in the reception area right now."

"Come on Lucius," Valerian said as he hurried from his seat. "No point in keeping the man waiting."

"Yeah. I'll bet Remus got here early too. Very patient of him to wait." Tonks added as she grabbed Lucius' arm and practically started dragging him down the hall. "You don't want to be rude do you?"

"Excuse me," Lucius said coldly as he slipped his arm free. "But just what conniving idea have the two of you concocted?"

"Us? A conniving idea?" Tonks feigned a look of hurt. "And here we were trying to do something nice for you."

"How callous of you," Valerian tsked. "Tonks tries so hard to be accommodating for your sake."

Lucius took one look at their expressions and gave a disbelieving sneer. "I know you can do much better than that Valerian. Do you honestly expect me to buy such pitiful acting?"

"No, I didn't," Tonks said as she grabbed his arm resolutely. "So you will go with Remus, enjoy your surprise and thank me graciously with a super expensive gift when you get back, understood?"

"And just where am I going?" Lucius asked in a flat voice. He did not like some one ordering him around.

"You'll see." Valerian said simply as they entered the reception area. "You know, maybe it's a good thing we caught you that night."

"Yeah, I think it was." Tonks affirmed with a slightly condescending nod of her head. And then she gave him a little push away.

"I beg your pardon?" Lucius asked incredulously.

But by that point, Valerian and Tonks were already walking back down the hallway and chatting between themselves. Lucius watched their backs for a moment before he turned around. There was Remus, sitting down in one of the seats and flipping through Quidditch Today.

"The Cannons have decided to have an early draft pick. They hope it might increase their chances," Remus said as he looked up. "I've been here so long that I had enough time to read every single article in detail."

"That doesn't explain why you are here."

"They've been keeping track of you through Tonks' reports. So they might take your sudden change of location the wrong way. Tonks has graciously offered to overlook that small fact for a week or so."

"Ah. And just what would she be overlooking, location wise?"

Remus simply smiled. "It's a good thing I asked Hermione to set the Portkey for much later than originally scheduled. And it's due to go in a minute or so. If you wouldn't mind touching my arm for a bit…"

Lucius stepped up and obliged. "You know," he began slowly. "I'm not all that fond of surprises."

"I'm sure you'll like this one."

Lucius had a somewhat caustic reply ready but the Portkey activated. Everything dissolved into a chaotic whirl for a bit before it lurched to a halt in a new setting. Lucius stood still for a moment, blinking rapidly to gain his sense of balance and equilibrium back. Even though he had travelled by Portkey numerous times, he always felt slightly unsteady afterward.

The room that greeted him was dark and shadowy. But he could make out the faint lines of a couch and some potted plants. There was a large folding screen off to his left, the large white squares easy to see. Just up ahead, he saw glass doors leading into a room that was illuminated by the faint starlight from the sky. The only thing that betrayed the fact that this was not a house was the bare tops of the trees that he could just make out.

"Hm, well I guess Harry isn't home," Remus mused. "I'll have Tonks send over some things for you later on when she and Valerian are done with dinner."

Lucius turned to face Remus. "This is Harry's place?"

Remus smirked as he stepped back into the fireplace. "Surprise."

And with that the werewolf vanished away in a puff of green flame. Lucius was left looking around the dark room. Finally, he drew his wand and cast Lumos, as he couldn't see anything else that would provide enough light. He had a sneaking suspicion that the things in the corners were lamps, but he didn't see any way to activate them. He walked closer to the screen and peered past it, seeing a table crammed full of old Quidditch magazines, Daily Prophet, quills with the ends chewed up, ink bottles left open and parchment. There was a long curved opening in the wall with a polished wood countertop, which led directly to the kitchen. Lucius had a feeling it was supposed to be used for serving, not piled up with dirty dishes. With a snort to the competency of Harry's house elves, he turned and glanced momentarily at the staircase before making his way up it slowly.

The upper level of the place was darker than the ground floor. He made his Lumos brighter and started down the hallway directly in front of him. At the end he found two doors. Looking at them critically, he opened one and found it full of linen. The other one held some strange looking white machines. He closed the door and made his way back down the hallway. A door greeted him when he reached the end and he found an empty room when he opened it. The next door down held a very messy bathroom and the next one down held an equally messy bedroom. Either it was a guestroom that was occupied or he would be speaking to Harry about getting competent house elves. The next set of doors was just across from the messy bedroom and Lucius opened it slightly. It seemed much brighter than the rest of the house. A bit curious, he opened the door fully and stepped in. The entire room was painted white and reflected the light that came in from outside. A bed with curtains sat directly against the wall, with a small alcove off to the left.

Lucius was struck by the starkness of it all. He frowned and turned his attention to the sliding doors right beside him. When he opened them, he found Harry few clothes hanging on the racks and a dresser fitted right into the wall. So this was the reason why he didn't have a dresser. And, if the racks were any indication, the dresser would be just as empty as well. Lucius made a small mental note to take Harry shopping at some point.

The door that he opened led to the bathroom. But he didn't have much time to take it in as light suddenly flooded the closet behind him. He turned around and found himself facing a half-naked Harry who was staring at him in complete surprise and a shirt held loosely in his hands.

Lucius let his eyes run over Harry before he licked his lips with a small smile. "I'll have to make sure I buy Tonks something particularly expensive."

* * *


	32. Chapter 31

_**Come the Maëlstrom**_

_Chapter Thirty One_

There was something infinitely pleasing about waking up next to a warm body. It was one of the things that Harry missed since he'd come back from Spain. He sighed deeply and snuggled in closer. The sleeping body beside him gave a slight snort and shifted, spooning up against him. He reached for Lucius' arm and snaked it over his waist.

"Is there some reason why you squirm about so much?" came Lucius' sleep rough voice.

"Trying to get warm and comfortable." Harry replied easily. "Why? What does it matter?"

"As it woke me up, it matters," Lucius grumbled.

Harry laughed. "Are you grumpy because we didn't have sex last night."

"…… Of course not; just because you looked perfectly delectable last night when you came in didn't mean I didn't want to bed you in any manner whatsoever. I'm so glad all we did was talk until we fell asleep; that was the next best thing even though we could have done that later on."

Harry rolled onto his stomach and laughed into the pillow. True, Lucius did have a pretty high sex drive; it was, in all likelihood, higher than Harry's was. And that entire reply smacked of sarcasm, but it also struck him as funny.

"I had to practically beat you back just so I could take a shower," Harry laughed. "I'm starting to think you're horny all the time."

"No. I do sleep."

Harry arched an eyebrow before he snickered as he snuggled in closer to Lucius. "Why don't you just go back to sleep then?"

"If you don't wake me up again," Lucius muttered. "I believe I will."

Harry smiled as he watched Lucius' eyes close once more. He closed his own eyes, listening to Lucius' breathing become slow and steady; this, he would always remember.

* * *

"It would probably still have the same effect if you didn't use frogspawn."

"Perhaps; but with such a volatile potion, it's better to not experiment."

Hermione frowned, absentmindedly wrapping a curl between her fingers. "If you modify the potion for a less potent version, you might be able to extrapolate results."

"Modification can render some potions useless, which makes it futile in the long run." Severus said with a light shrug.

"True, but some modification must have been done in order to further the field of potions. Can you honestly say that it would be at its current state now if someone didn't fiddle with already known potions?"

"I can't refute that, but I have no desire to inadvertently end my life to satisfy my curiosity."

A soft smile came to Hermione's face, which left Severus a bit puzzled. He had invited her out to lunch in the hopes of making up for the fiasco of a dinner date that they had a bit ago. Merlin knew it hadn't been easy finding the time. Hermione was either at Gringotts, preparing for her job or running around doing a myriad of errands. But she had made the time for him. And so far it was going splendidly, even if they were doing pretty much the same thing as last time: becoming engrossed in conversation and slowly eating their meal. It seemed that graduating from Hogwarts had done even more for Hermione's intelligence; she questioned everything and expected nothing less than a decent answer. Severus definitely respected that; he had met plenty of women who would simply agree with his every word. Hermione frequently questioned him and wouldn't let an issue lie if she had definite opinions on it. He sat there watching her and realised that he actually liked that quality about her, found it endearing. Which was a bit ironic since Valerian possessed that same quality and irked the hell out of him. Of course, unlike Valerian, Hermione was far from condescending about it.

"I certainly wouldn't want that either," Hermione finally pronounced. "Besides, who would properly terrorise all the potions students at Hogwarts?"

Severus couldn't help but smile slightly at that dry sardonic tone in her voice. "That's the only way to reach uppity little eleven year olds and arrogant seventeen year olds."

"I have no doubt," Hermione laughed. "I know you're not the same kind of teacher as say, McGongall or Lupin."

"At least someone recognises that." Severus grumbled.

"Did you think I was going to say something sanctimonious?" Hermione shook her head. "You may be harsh, but you have the student's best interest at heart."

"Not everything is as easy as Hogwarts."

"No, it's not," Hermione mused. "But I think what I experienced there, in terms of teaching staff, was very useful. You encounter some people who are nice, mean, two-faced; that prepares you for the working world."

Severus nodded his head; he'd found the same thing as well when he graduated. Though he didn't have a two-faced teacher like Umbridge. "And we all know that I am not a nice man."

"Most definitely not." Hermione agreed with a smirk. "Though I don't think anything at Hogwarts could prepare me for working with goblins."

Severus opened his mouth to reply when a shadow fell over their table. He looked up, expecting to see their waiter. When he found himself looking at a young man clad in green robes and a nervous expression on his face, he scowled up at him.

"Go away; as you can tell I'm busy." Severus said curtly.

He really didn't want another interruption during his date. And the good mood he was in was rapidly ebbing away.

"I know Sir, and I am terribly sorry but –"

"What part of go away did you fail to understand, you dunce? Shall I say it slower so your tiny brain can comprehend the full meaning of the words as a whole?" Severus retorted in a tight voice. He felt marginally better when Hermione gave a quiet snicker.

"This is for you." The man managed as he practically throwing a sealed envelope onto Severus' plate before fleeing.

Severus watched the wizard's retreating back with a sneer before he shifted his gaze to the envelope momentarily. He slipped it from the table and into his pocket with an expression of irritation. If he had been dealing with a rash man with too much backbone, the date would have been another fiasco.

"How refreshing to see that you haven't lost your touch," Hermione smiled.

"You assume that I would forget something as crucial as driving off people."

"I haven't been in one of your classes since fifth year," Hermione mused for a moment. "Though if the horror stories I got from Ginny were any indication, I should have expected that."

"Indeed," Severus watched her for a moment, choosing to fiddle with his fork. "Was there a reason why you chose to not continue with potions?"

"It didn't fit into my plans. Granted it was fascinating, but I needed at least a N.E.W.T in advanced aritmancy and abstract predictions as well as predictive numerology. There were so many prerequisites from sixth year for N.E.W.T courses, that I had no room for potions. And after third year… no, not doing that again." Hermione shrugged. "Maybe I'll see about furthering my knowledge in that field once I become settled into my job. It certainly wouldn't hurt to know."

"Indeed," Severus mused. "There are very effective means to silence nattering fools."

"Are you suggesting that I poison someone?" she asked with an arched eyebrow.

"Of course not. I'm simply informing you of a manner in which to still overactive tongues," a slight smirk came to his face. "And that is hardly a crime."

"Hardly. And it doesn't require a great amount of skill?"

"Potter could brew it. You could easily brew it in your sleep."

"I do believe that is one of the most flattering things you've ever said to me." Hermione mused. "Even if it was at Harry's expense."

"Yes, we all know flattery is one of my strong suits," Severus snorted sardonically. "I simply stated a very true fact."

"And your brutal honesty is well known." She smiled before she paused and looked at her watch. "What time did you say that you had a class to teach?"

"One thirty." Severus replied.

"And it's one fifteen already," Hermione looked crestfallen for a moment. "If you don't have a lot of marking tonight, maybe we could continue this conversation over dinner?"

Severus watched as Hermione smiled at him, as if she knew he would already say yes. "That is an excellent idea. I'm sure I could arrange something, so we wouldn't be loitering longer than we should be in a restaurant."

"Dinner in your chambers?" Hermione sounded momentarily surprised.

"If you would be so kind as to agree…" Severus trailed off meaningfully; he couldn't see her passing him up on this offer.

"That would be lovely," she said a moment later. Then a smug smirk came to her face. "Maybe we should get going now. I know you wouldn't want to be late and that waiter's been skulking over there for the past forty minutes with a glower on his face."

Severus watched as she tilted her head slightly in the direction of the waiter. Her neck stretched, presenting a gentle curve that he found himself hard pressed to tear his eyes away from. When Hermione looked back at him, he simply arched an eyebrow in question. She nodded her head and he left a few Sickles on the table. He rose from the table, offering his arm. She took it, leaving a few Sickles on the table to match his. Severus looked back, feeling smug in his assumption that Hermione would want to pay for her own. True it was a date, but Hermione's more modern sensibilities might be offended if he paid for it all. Besides, he could always do that on a special date.

"It's too bad this had to be put on hold," Hermione sighed as they stepped out into the somewhat empty walkway. "I really do enjoy spending time with you Severus."

"Likewise." Severus replied quietly, loud enough for only her to hear.

Hermione made a content sound and moved in a bit closer to Snape. He found his hold on her hand tightening a bit and a soft smile coming to his face unbidden. Hermione's feet stopped suddenly, and he looked down at her in concern.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

"Do that again please." She asked softly.

"Do what?"

"Smile."

Severus blinked in bemusement for a moment, eyes darting around for a moment; the street was sufficiently empty of people. He looked back at her and did his best to smile again. Hermione's lips twisted into a grin that was irrepressible.

"Not the same, but endearing nonetheless."

And with that she stood on her tiptoes and kissed him gently on the lips. Severus felt the smile come back unbidden. For the first time in his life, a woman kissed him of her own free will, because she had wanted to. That was a very big difference from him kissing a woman whom didn't bother to hide the fact that he repulsed her. He looked at Hermione for a long moment and before he knew it, he had leaned in once more and was kissing her, hands cupping her face, right in the middle of the walkway.

The small thoroughly traditional part of his brain was having a fit, as such overt and crass things were not done in public. The rest of his brain was happily telling the traditional part, in rather concise terms, to fuck off.

The kiss was slow this time, tongues exploring languidly, while all the senses were savoured to the fullest. He could feel the softness of her lips, the way her tongue played across his. Her skin was soft, with wisps of her hair brushing again his fingers. The scent of green apple wafted from her hair but her mouth tasted of pineapple, evidence of the dessert she had been slowly making her way through. Her hands slid around his arm, as if clinging to him for support. When they finally broke off, Hermione stood there with a blissful expression on her face, eyes closed. She opened them slowly and licked her lips.

"Mmmm, pesto." She said with a somewhat goofy smile coming to her face.

Suddenly Severus wished he didn't have that one class to teach and that the evening would hurry and come.

* * *

"Um, I'm looking for Ron Weasley?"

The receptionist behind the desk didn't even look up at Harry. "He's out on the pitch."

Harry nodded his thanks and quickly hurried out to the pitch before the girl looked up. He hadn't made it out of bed before noon, no thanks to Lucius. By the time he realised that he absolutely had to get to the bathroom to get ready, his knees felt like jelly and he wobbled and weaved to the bathroom. The entire morning seemed lost in a blur of orgasms; between him and Lucius, they wouldn't be having sex again for at least a week. Merlin knew his ass was sore and he had to cast a few spells in order to walk without looking funny.

When he'd finally gotten dressed, he'd popped back into the bedroom, and explained to Lucius where he was going. Lucius had wanted to know why, but Harry had to ask him to wait until he got back. If he explained it, he would definitely be late. He was almost lured back to bed when Lucius gave him a smouldering kiss goodbye and Harry had found himself hard pressed to leave.

But he'd managed it. Hopefully Ron wouldn't be too mad at him for showing up unannounced. When he stepped out onto the pitch, he saw a cluster of people standing around one person. It looked like the Cannons were practising. He looked around until he spied Ron's bright red hair off to the end, near a set of goal hoops. He jogged his way over, Ron eventually waving to him. When he plunked himself down on the grass, he found Ron was eating his lunch.

"What are you doing here?" Ron asked before taking a huge bite of his sandwich.

"I came to see you. I know you have lunch now. Remember when we went to the pub? What we discussed?"

"Wait, about Ginny, or about that story you told me?" Ron paused and shuddered.

"About Ginny."

"Yeah, what about that?"

"What do you say we go and pay Percy a visit?"

Ron stared at Harry for a moment before he swallowed his bite of food quickly. "Genius! Hang on a sec!"

And with that, Ron scrambled up from where he was sitting and raced over to the Quidditch team. Harry watched as heads turned a lot, and there was a lot gesturing. It took a few minutes before Ron raced back over.

"All right, we're good to go. They said to take as much time as I need, but I'll have to make it up."

"Not a problem, hopefully it won't take too long." Harry said as he rose as well.

They walked across the pitch back into the atrium. Harry was glad for the fact that no one seemed to recognise him. Of course, that could be the bangs falling into his face. Or the black baseball cap that he'd bought and was now wearing. Ron went into the fireplace first and Harry followed right behind him. When they arrived at the Ministry lobby, they quickly checked in their wands and hurried up to Percy's office. When they walked in, there was a secretary who seemed buried under a literal pile of flapping memos and parchment.

"Do you boys want something?" she asked in exasperation, looking up at them.

"Yeah, I want to see my brother." Ron said easily.

"You'll have to wait. He's in a meeting with some delegates from the vampires at the moment," the lady said absently as she dug around for something. "The moment he's done, I'll hold his appointments so you can see him."

Ron and Harry nodded their heads and sat down, flipping idly through some magazines that were sitting on a table. They were looking at copies of Quidditch Today and discussing the Cannons' early draft that was approaching. They were in the middle of arguing why the Cannons captain was calling for a new Seeker when the door to Percy's office opened.

"I'm glad we were able to come to a mutually satisfying agreement." Percy appeared in the doorway.

"Likewise," a cloaked person followed after Percy; judging from the voice, it was probably a man. "This is the first step towards a unifying peace between wizardkind and vampires."

Harry watched as two more figures came out behind the first one, and they stood there for a few minutes just chattering. He glanced at Ron to find him grinning. He couldn't help but smile in response; Ron seemed nothing less than proud of Percy now.

"If there's any problem, just send an owl or drop by. I'll see to it myself." Percy said with a polite smile.

The main vampire bowed, followed by the others, before turning to leave. That was when he paused, finally noticing Harry and Ron. The cloaked figure walked up to him without making a single noise. Harry didn't say anything, just watching. When the person came to a stop in front of him, he looked up expectantly. There was a very pale face but he didn't notice that. It seemed like the eyes were on fire, an unnatural blue contrasted by such pale, pale skin.

"Harry Potter," the vampire said before bowing as well.

Harry stood there completely stunned as the other vampire came up and did the exact same thing. So far as he knew, vampires didn't bow to just anyone. When they bowed to Percy, that he could understand. Why they were bowing to him exactly, he had no clue. He could feel a steady flush coming to his face. When the last one came up to him, and bowed, it felt like this one was staring at him too intently.

"Harry Potter," the feminine voice was soft as she extended her hand.

Harry knew about this too. She wanted him to kiss her hand. It would be considered rude if he didn't. However, he also knew that Veelas and vampires weren't on the friendliest of terms; a few nasty blood feuds could do that. And if he went back home, smelling the least bit of a vampire on any part of him, Merlin only who knew how Lucius would react, however subconsciously it would be. He wouldn't even have to open his mouth to get himself into a whack of trouble. His best bet would be to take her hand and bow; damage control could come later on.

He was thankfully spared from this as the woman cocked her head suddenly, nostrils flaring slightly. Then she dropped her hand.

"My apologies, I did not realise. I have been ill of late and my sense of smell is affected." She said politely, though Harry thought he detected a disappointed note in there.

"That's all right," Harry said.

"My congratulations to your mate on his exemplary selection." The woman bowed once more.

Harry felt a massive surge of relief as he bowed back and the woman went to join her companions and leave the office.

"All right, that was definitely odd." Ron said. "What was she talking about Harry?"

"How am I supposed to know?" Harry replied with a shrug. "I wasn't even expecting the whole bowing thing."

"You are Harry Potter after all; you're infamous in more circles that you know." Percy said, gesturing to his office.

Harry and Ron went in and Percy closed the door firmly. They settled down in their seats and Percy had some drinks and sandwiches sent up.

"I hope you don't mind. I'm only having lunch now," he explained as he went for tuna salad.

"That's all right. I had my lunch break interrupted as well," Ron explained. "Harry came to see me and he said we should come and see you."

"What for?" Percy asked before he took a bite of his sandwich.

"Well, you know the whole situation with Ginny, right?" Ron took a deep breath as Percy nodded his head. "We need your help."

Percy raised his eyebrows as he continued to chew. "You know, I can't give you direct access to certain things; it would be a breach of protocol."

"No, you don't have to do anything big. It's Octavia that I want to know about."

"A background check?" Percy asked.

"That's exactly it," Harry said. "It just seems like she popped up out of nowhere. I can't recall Alicia talking about a sister."

"Alicia?"

"She was in my DADA class, and one of the few Millers at the school," Harry explained. "I can't remember any other one saying something about a sibling named Octavia."

"I really think something being done to Ginny," Ron said, shifting forward on his seat. "Don't you think she's been acting odd?"

"I'll admit it's different for her, but it could just be… undue influences." Percy finally said. "Do you have any other evidence than that?"

"No," Ron said shaking his head. "That's why we need your help."

"Well, I can't do that, even if you did have sufficient evidence. But while I can't do that, I can recommend some non-Ministry affiliated people that have done excellent work in this sort of field. You just want to do a background check, right?" Percy said before he stuck the sandwich in his mouth and reached for a piece of parchment and a quill.

"For now, yeah." Harry said. "If it turns out there's something fishy going on, we'll have to do something else."

"Like find the services of bounty hunter?" Percy removed the sandwich from his mouth. "The Ministry certainly can't give you the help of an Auror. But if the situation is serious enough, it will be passed onto the Aurors."

"That'll work too." Ron said.

Percy smiled and stuck the sandwich back in his mouth as he scribbled something else on the parchment. When he finished, he laid down his quill and handed it to Ron, taking another bite from his sandwich.

"Morgan Hunter?" Ron read from the parchment.

"She's the best bounty hunter out there at the moment." Percy explained.

"And what about Jaime Carter?"

"One of the best investigative wizards out there," Percy sighed. "If my hands weren't so tied down, I could do a lot more but that's the best I can do."

"This is great actually; Gin won't be able to accuse you of siding against her. I mean, you're not supposed to do stuff like this. And we all know how much you follow the rules to the letter."

Percy blinked and then laughed. "That's right. I daresay you're learning to scheme awfully well."

Ron's face went red but he gave a small grin and held up the list. "Thanks."

"No problem. Why don't you two stay and have lunch with me? I have about a million other things to do but they can wait for a bit."

"Sure, that'd be great. You don't have anything to do Harry?"

"No, not really." Harry said, reaching for a sandwich.

"Excellent," Percy said. "So Ron, planning to move back into the house sometime soon? Mum's been firecalling me saying that Ginny's gone back to school now and that she missed having you around."

"Yeah, I'll probably head back tonight. I'll have some overtime to pull at the pitch. It's been murder what with those early tryouts the Cannons are having. You wouldn't believe how some of them mess it up. Unbelievable!"

He sat back in his seat, listening as Ron and Percy started talking about Quidditch. It was great to see that Percy wasn't so uptight anymore, and had learned to relax. He chewed on his sandwich, realising that Lucius was still at home, probably bored out of his mind. He would have to do something nice for him tonight. If he remembered correctly, there was a small community theatre by their house that was showing some play by Shakespeare. And there was a little restaurant in the same area he had been meaning to go to for the longest time.

He paused for a moment, realising he'd been thinking of the apartment as theirs. A momentary smile came to his face and he took a big bite of his sandwich. After all that was happening, it was only appropriate that they have their first real date together.

* * *


	33. Chapter 32

_**Come the Maëlstrom**_

_Chapter Thirty Two_

Lucius was happy. For the first time in his life, he could boast that he was perfectly content and happy. The past week had been filled with dates and just forgetting that there was anything wrong.

Of course Harry had cast a few charms on them so they didn't appear quite the same, but Lucius considered it a small price to pay for not being harassed in public.

They had gone to have dinner in a quiet little restaurant not far from the apartment and then a play for their first one. The second date, was his first movie. On the third date, they'd gone to this little pub that featured jazz music; Lucius had thought was especially nice as they'd both never heard jazz before. But while he couldn't stand it, Harry had loved it. They'd only left for dinner after Harry had bought something called a CD for later on. Lucius wasn't all that sure that the shiny disc could do much of anything. They had gone to see a movie again for their fourth date. But where the first movie was actually good, the second one was horrible. Lucius didn't even last ten minutes before he stomped out and demanded a full refund for both tickets. The manager was being pissy and it took an awful lot of talking on Harry's part to save the man's life and get a refund. There were exceptions to every case. And while magic was out of the question, he wasn't exactly averse to using his bare hands on that particularly infuriating Muggle.

Today's date had been taking in the historic sites of Muggle London and neither one of them dared visit any wizarding ones. While they had changed their appearances, all it would take was one careless spell to unravel the charm and expose them. They would be picked out far too fast and be fending off the subsequent rumours for ages. All in all, Lucius thought the Muggle sites weren't that bad; barring obnoxious Muggles with their bratty overly loud children who clung together in a large group like lost sheep. At the moment, they were heading home on the Underground. It was fairly late at night, and the car they were in was empty. Compared to how crowded it was when they left in the morning, Lucius preferred it this way. Harry had shifted in his seat and snuggled in under Lucius' arm.

"Did you have fun today?" Harry asked, eyes wandering from advertisement to advertisement.

"Yes, barring the tour guide's insistence that she was always correct." Lucius replied.

Harry's lip tugged upwards into a smile. "You have to remember that she's a Muggle. She doesn't know what really happened at the Tower that night."

Lucius snorted. "Yes, because we all know that the botched memory charm accounts for the conflicting stories of what occurred. It doesn't take much to put things together."

"Why, it sounds like you want the Muggles to find out." Harry said in mock shock.

"I don't. I just can't believe that someone would elect to be that stupid and blind."

"It could be worse you know."

"Indeed. They could be a Neanderthal, arms hanging down to the ground and staring at one another with jutting jaws and vacant expressions."

Harry broke out laughing suddenly. Lucius looked at him, startled for a moment, before he smiled. Their tour guide for Big Ben had looked very much like a Neanderthal. With the wide mouth, toothy grin, protruding ears, and a slight jut to jaw, it was very hard to miss the resemblance. The only thing missing was a club and the skin of some animal. Most of the group had been snickering under their breath as he led them on, talking without a clue.

"All he needed was the pose." Harry continued.

Lucius watched as Harry slipped from his seat and stood in the aisle, hunching his shoulders and using the swaying of the car to mimic the man.

"And over here are some sculptures discovered by Lord Elgin and brought back from Greece," Harry said with a monotone voice and listless vague gesture of one floppy hand. "Not that the Greeks covered up nudity or much of anything."

"It's much easier to appreciate the human form with out tactful bits of cloth in places." Lucius replied.

Harry straightened up and gripped the pole closest to him as the train went through a curve, tilting slightly on the rails. When it straightened out, Harry held onto the pole with his other hand, watching Lucius. Lucius looked at him expectantly, but Harry didn't say anything; all he did was smile.

"Can I help you with something?" he finally asked.

"I'm just glad you had fun today." Harry said. "I know it mustn't be easy what with Ginny and all."

There was a damper on a good mood if he ever saw one. Harry seemed to realise it too, since his smile disappeared.

"I didn't mean to –" he began.

Lucius held up a hand, making him stop. "We've put it off long enough. And dare I say the issue of you having a small chat with Draco has yet to arise, has it?"

"I was going to get around to that…" Harry said evasively as he stretched his arms.

The slight chafing sound Harry's hands made against the metal reached his ears. Lucius didn't arch an eyebrow, simply regarding Harry for a moment.

"I know it makes you uncomfortable, but it needs to be done." Lucius said finally.

"I know, I know." Harry replied a bit irritably. "Here's our stop."

Bright tiles greeted him through the window as the train left the tunnel and came to a stop. They stepped out and walked out into the night air. It was a bit cool with a bit of a bite to it. Harry stepped closer to Lucius, wrapping an arm around his waist. Lucius didn't reply but wrapped an arm around Harry's shoulder. Nothing was said until they were just outside the main doors to the apartment building.

"Really, I didn't mean to spoil the whole mood." Harry said finally. He fumbled for the keys in his pocket. "Merlin, I have horrible timing."

"It needed to be spoiled," Lucius said easily. "We have to sit down and have a very frank talk about this situation."

Harry nodded his head. "You know, I never told you the reason why I went to the Ministry that day."

"I have no doubt it was for some great purpose."

"Of course. I doubt Ginny would look at it that way."

Lucius looked at him questioningly. Harry simply smiled.

"Call it my gift to you."

"I'd like to have some idea of what it is."

"Yeah, I bet you would."

And with that, Harry grinned and pulled Lucius in for a kiss. Lucius let his hands drop to Harry's hips and pull him in a bit more. Harry's lips parted and his tongue darted out to flick against Lucius'. Lucius parted his lips willingly and let Harry's tongue in. It slid against his; wrapped around it, teased and promised of things that could be done.

Lucius was quite enjoying it when the sudden cawing of a bird interrupted. It was loud, nearby and had a particular sound to it. He broke off from the kiss quite suddenly looking around.

"What is it?" Harry asked in a somewhat husky voice.

Lucius looked back to find Harry's face a bit flushed but entirely predatory. Of course, the look would have been completed if those dilated pupils were filled with lust rather than confusion.

"Did you hear that?" he asked while looking around.

"Hear what? The bird?" Harry was looking around now as well.

Lucius nodded his head. "It was a raven."

"Really?" Harry frowned a bit. "That'd be the first raven I've seen here since I moved in."

Lucius looked sharply at Harry before he placed a hand against the small of Harry's back and urged him forward quickly. "Inside. Now." He murmured.

Harry looked at Lucius in puzzlement and curiosity but opened the door. Lucius walked in after him and it wasn't until they were in the elevator that Lucius relaxed a bit.

"Care to tell me what all that was about?" Harry asked, leaning against the elevator door as it took them to the third floor.

"McGonagall isn't the only unregistered Animagus."

Harry spluttered for a bit and started pacing. "How did you know that? Snape?"

"Yes," Lucius replied. "He was always vague about her animal form. Bellatrix however…"

"Bellatrix?" Harry repeated after a moment. "Damn it, damn it, damn it. Clever bastards; lying low for so long… must have fooled the Ministry into thinking they aren't a serious threat any more."

"A foolish mistake on their part," Lucius said as the elevator arrived with a clang and the doors opened.

"I'm with you on that one," Harry agreed. They started walking down the hall. "That raven was Bellatrix?"

"She has a very distinct caw. I would suggest you be on your guard and we don't leave the house any more."

Harry nodded his head. "I'd better double check my wards then, shouldn't I?"

"That would be an excellent idea," Lucius replied. "I would hate to have to break my parole in the house; that would necessitate some difficult questions."

"Lucius," Harry suddenly grabbed his arm. "What if someone's already in the apartment and waiting to ambush me?"

"The only way to reach help would be to get to the fireplace," Lucius replied after a moment.

Harry swore and drew his wand. "You'd better draw yours too. If it does come down to that, we'll deal with that problem later."

Lucius nodded his head in agreement as they reached the apartment door. Harry unlocked it and pushed the door open, leaving the keys in it still. The vestibule was still the same as they left it, lights out with the closet door open a crack. A faint glow of light came from the living room, but Harry had purposely left the light on. Harry stepped in slowly, Lucius behind him.

They checked upstairs first and found nothing. When they came down, the same empty living room greeted them. Harry breathed a very audible sigh of relief.

"Looks like no one is –"

"Took you two long enough to get back."

Harry whipped his wand out at the sound of the voice and blasted a hex right at it. A moment later, he groaned as it hit with the wall and left an impact mark.

"Damn it Draco, did you have to do that!"

Draco was peering over the side of the couch, looking between Lucius and Harry. Lucius was trying to figure out what Draco was doing here.

"I almost blasted your head off you idiot!" Harry snarled as he walked over to the wall and inspected the damage.

Lucius just looked at his son expectantly. Draco sat up on the couch, looking a bit sleepy but otherwise alert. He also looked like he had been waiting here for a long time.

"Where have you two been all day? I get here at a respectable hour in the afternoon, only to find you aren't here. And as it's almost midnight now, I think some explanation is in order."

Only Draco could sit there in someone else's house and still act so imperious. Lucius glanced at Harry, who was still bemoaning the state of his wall, and sat down on the couch.

"We were out on a date." He said simply as he made himself comfortable.

"A date?" Draco looked between him and Harry. "For _that_ long?"

"As it was a particularly good date, yes," Lucius settled back against the cushion. "Now I find myself wondering why you came here?"

"Tonks said you were here. At least for a day or so more."

Lucius nodded his head as he stretched an arm along the top of the couch. "And whatever it is you have to say couldn't wait until I arrived back at the manor?"

"Don't be callous about this." Draco said accusingly.

"I'm not being callous; I'm simply waiting to hear what you have to say."

"You certainly look callous enough," Draco snapped as he rose, running a hand through his hair. "For one moment, just try to think of how this is for me. If Potter's father was still alive and you caught us in bed together, I think you'd be out for his blood."

"Hey!" Harry looked over angrily.

"Oh, use your head Potter!" Draco chided with exasperation. "It's called a hypothetical situation."

Harry grumbled and came and sat down beside Lucius, tucking his wand away just inside his shirt. Lucius didn't say anything as Harry reclined against him, simply watching Draco still.

"You do raise a very valid point." Lucius replied.

"Then I'm glad you're not expecting me to be entirely rational about this," Draco paced, rubbing the nape of his neck. "Even though I have been trying very hard to be."

"I thought you would have gone to the Prophet by now," Harry said a bit petulantly with his arms crossed. "But 'Mione said you wouldn't."

"Maybe the mudblood isn't so stupid," Draco muttered. "Rita Skeeter's two-bit, twisted and biased perspective on this situation is _not_ needed at all."

"Would you stop calling her mudblood?" Harry said in a peevish tone. "She has a name! It's Hermione! Her-my on-ne! Hermione!"

Draco's eyes flickered towards Lucius and Lucius nodded his head very slightly. Draco's eyes widened in surprise for a moment, but it vanished away. Draco sat back down at his end of the couch, looking at them with a hard glare.

"Obviously, you two are together, and no amount of bitching on my part will change that," Draco paused and took a deep breath. "So, what I want to know is why you two picked each other."

Lucius remained silent, unsure of how to reply to that. It wasn't so much that they consciously picked each other, but this had happened. And while they hadn't gone digging for the reasons of their attraction, they both just seemed to know. It wasn't vocalised at all, like something sacrosanct and only implied about.

"Well?" Draco demanded.

Lucius glanced down and found Harry looking up at him, with amused seriousness evident in those green eyes.

"Honestly," Harry said finally, looking away from him to Draco. "He's the best shag I ever had."

Draco went positively green in the face and Lucius gave a small cough, hinted with a smile. Draco's lips frowned and he gave Harry an accusatory look.

"You call that a reason?"

"Call it one of many then," Harry said with a light shrug. "I can't quite put it into words."

"Bullshit."

"Well, you know what, fine. If you want us to feed you some line about how we were meant for one another, that we're soul mates or that we're desperately in love and gonna get hitched, then you're bonkers." Harry replied easily, and a bit angrily.

Draco's brow furrowed as he looked between them for a long moment before he spoke one word. "'Us'?"

"Yes, 'us'," Lucius watched Draco's face carefully. "In this case, meaning two people Harry and I."

Draco snorted and still looked between them. Then he asked the one question Lucius was not expecting at all.

"And are you planning to get married?"

Lucius gave a small frown, but Harry gawked at Draco like he had grown another limb.

"Don't stare at me like that," Draco said irritably. "With Mother disappearance, I figured it was only a matter if time before you found someone else. And you've found someone already. Now, just answer the question."

"So far marriage is not in the picture," Lucius said simply. "That might change in the future, it might not." He shrugged.

"Do you want to get married Potter?" Draco asked. "To Father?"

"Not particularly. If anything, I think I would avoid it. Marriage that is," Harry shrugged. "Maybe one day I'll want to marry Lucius, but I'm content with the relationship as it is at the moment."

"Avoid marriage?"

"Well, maybe that's a lie," Harry paused and thought. "Maybe if I was drunk enough and I couldn't keep my hands off him. We could get a quickie wedding somewhere." A small grin crept onto Harry's face. "Maybe in a situation like that. Can two wizards get – "

Lucius nodded his head, making Harry's grin grow wider.

"Would you be serious, Potter!" Draco snapped. "And Merlin knows that is not another mental image that I need," He shuddered for a moment. "If you think I'm the biggest of your problems, maybe you should take a closer look at things. Once someone finds out about this and goes to the Daily Prophet or Witch Weekly, I'll seem like nothing."

"I know, but after talking with 'Mione, I don't think a better bunch of people could have found out. I know you'll all keep your mouths shut." Harry sat up and looked at Draco intently. "What I have wanted to apologise for was not telling you sooner. Why do you think I invited you over so much? But it never seemed like a good time."

"I would imagine. When is a good time for one to tell a person they're sleeping with that person's father?" Draco said dryly as he crossed his arms.

Harry rubbed the back of his head. "See my dilemma?"

"You know," Draco snorted. "This would have to be the one time you actually used your head and everything blew up in your face."

"Tell me about it," Harry looked nervously at Draco. "So you're still not mad?"

"It's lessened to a peeve." Draco finally said. "The practically uncontrollable urge to hex you senseless has long past. You can thank Blaise for that."

"Great!" Harry grinned before he pulled Draco into a momentary hug.

The younger Malfoy got a baffled look on his face. "What the hell was that for?"

"I'm just really relieved," Harry said. "I thought it would be another blow up like last time."

"Yes, well, perhaps you're not as sluttish as I originally thought you were." Draco finally said.

Harry grinned. "Why don't you stay for a bit? We can open a bottle of wine."

"Since when do you have wine?" Lucius asked.

"It came with the place. Previous owner said it was a gratuity. I don't know the first thing about wine so I didn't touch it. Plus we've been eating out all week, so what would we use it for?"

"Well, go get a bottle and some glasses," Draco said as he reclined in his seat. "I'm not done interrogating you both."

Lucius groaned inwardly as Harry rose and went into the kitchen. This was definitely going to be a long evening.

* * *

"Holy, I thought Draco would never shut up." Harry muttered as he closed the door to the bedroom.

"Since when did he become so determined to dig around into my life?" Lucius mused as he sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Got me. I think he dug up way too much," Harry walked over to the bed and flopped down face first. "Merlin, half those questions… God, could he have wanted any longer answers?"

"Yes, your response of, 'Um, I like his hair' was quite inspired."

"Well Draco never specified what attribute of you that I like and he only said emotional the second time. Besides, you do have nice hair." Harry sat up suddenly, staring at the window intently. "Hey, do you hear that?"

He watched as Lucius cocked his head and then crept over to the window.

"It's the raven again." Lucius finally said. "I really don't like this."

Harry rose. "I'll be right back. I'm going to send an owl to Severus."

"Send one to Tonks. Have her come immediately." Lucius called after him.

Harry nodded his head and quietly made his way past the guest bedroom, down the stairs to the solarium. Draco had been too tired to Floo home, so Harry set him up in the guest bedroom. He found himself glad that Ron had gone back to The Burrow last week. Mrs. Weasley had been glad to have Ron back, and Ron found it easier, since Ginny was back at Hogwarts, to implement their plan from a much more supportive base. He had just grabbed a handful of Floo powder when Percy stepped out of the fireplace, asking to see Ron. He had a few people in tow, and Harry could only hope it was a good thing. He'd tried firecalling, but Mrs. Weasley said he was very busy and wasn't home as much.

He sighed as he entered the solarium. Hedwig gave a hoot from her stand. Harry smiled and grabbed the parchment and pen on a clipboard attached to the stand. He scribbled out two short letters, rolled and sealed them and addressed them to the respective person. He walked over to Hedwig's stand when he heard the caw of the raven again. It sounded shrill and demanding, as if someone wasn't doing something they were supposed to be doing.

"All right Hedwig," he said quietly. "I need you to take these to Snape and Tonks. I think someone might try to stop you. Don't let them, all right?"

Hedwig gave a serious hoot as Harry opened the large window and she soared out into the night sky. Almost immediately, he saw a raven take off from a tree and set off after Hedwig. He gritted his teeth and drew his wand, aiming a jinx at the bird. It gave a loud pained squawk that made him smile in grim satisfaction. He closed the window and hurried back up the stairs.

"You were right; some raven just started after Hedwig when I sent her off." Harry said as he entered the bedroom again, seeing Lucius peering out the window.

"Yes, I saw your impeccable aim from here." Lucius replied in dry amusement.

"Thanks," Harry came over to his side. "You don't see anything else out there, do you?"

"Nothing," Lucius glanced at him. "Though you should be worrying about a possible note from the Ministry about using magic in front of Muggles."

"If I get one they're bloody idiots," Harry groused. "It's almost three thirty in the morning. If there is a Muggle out there, they're probably so roaring drunk that they'll think they're imagining things."

Lucius chuckled and stepped away from the window. Harry watched as the blond made his way to the bed and sat down. Harry looked out the window one last time before he came over to the bed as well. He sat down and stripped off his socks, before going to work on his shirt buttons.

"Harry?" Lucius said after a moment.

"Yeah?" Harry asked, pausing and looking at Lucius.

"If we may have that talk now…"

Harry sighed and let his hands fall from his shirt buttons. "Yeah, might as well. I don't think I'm going to be able to sleep much tonight."

He watched as Lucius rested his elbows on his knees, linking his fingers and cradling his chin with his thumbs. Harry leaned back on the bed, bracing himself with one hand. His other hand went up and removed the tie from his hair before he ran a hand through it a couple times. It felt much better loose rather than tied up.

"While I can't say that I am pleased with young Miss Weasley's action," Lucius began. Harry had to resist the urge to snort. "I will understand if you wish to give her your support. It would appear strange if you suddenly supported me."

"Hmph, I can't say that I'm happy with what she's doing as well," Harry said. "I was talking to Ron, and we both agree that something's not right with Ginny. She's a completely different person, like someone changed her character."

"Changed?" Lucius echoed.

Harry nodded his head. "When Ron invited me over to dinner, there was a huge blowup afterwards with him and her… that was not Ginny. I mean, Ron said it himself. She was acting like a selfish bigoted bitch. And the thing is, she's so convinced that it was you, but Ron told me that before she said she wasn't sure who she saw do it."

"Interesting," Lucius finally said. "What factor could have changed her opinion so much, so drastically?"

"Octavia." Harry said finally with a sneer of displeasure. "Octavia Miller."

"Octavia Miller?" Lucius repeated. "Who, in Salazar's name, is that?"

"Octavia Miller; apparently, she had an older sister at Hogwarts. She and Ginny met at 9 ¾." Lucius arched an eyebrow in disbelief. Harry shifted on the bed, looking at him now. "Lucius…"

"There is only one prominent Miller family at the moment in the Wizarding world; they run the most successful Wizarding bakery in England. Their daughter is 23 and currently looking to expand the family business."

"But how can you be sure that there isn't a Muggleborn Miller at Hogwarts."

"Lucrezia Miller. She's very particular, since she's had people attempting to use her surname for illegal matters. She keeps track of all witches and wizards with the same surname. One Miller family has two boys, both due to enter Hogwarts in three years and the only other wizarding Miller family has a son who graduated Hogwarts ten years ago and little girl who will start in a year."

"Does she keep track of Squibs?"

"There are no Miller Squibs." Lucius paused for a moment. "Harry?"

Harry didn't say anything he had been taking very deep breaths as he attempted to calm himself while Lucius was talking. It wasn't working at the window started rattling and the night table started rocking unsteadily. He rose from the bed and paced back and forth, attempting to work off some of the anger.

"Just how do you know all this?"

"Lucrezia approached me two years ago, asking if I would be interested in financing her venture. We reached an agreement, but she determined it would have to be at a later date when it was fiscally more viable. She cited that as a chief reason for being very careful when starting new ventures."

Harry ran a hand through his hair with a displeased growl. "Someone's setting you up."

"And quite cleverly too." Lucius said after a moment. "Though I would imagine that Miss Weasley might have inadvertently made it easier for them."

"Then I wouldn't be surprised if they go to great lengths to see that you are found guilty," Harry didn't say anything for a long moment. "You've got how many months left? Five?"

"About that amount. Come March…" Lucius trailed off.

"Can't the proceedings be dragged out for that long? You've been tried once; isn't there something that prevents you from being tried again?"

"No," Lucius shook his head. "At this point, the best thing would be to simply get this over with. Should it prove unsuccessful, and Miss Weasley attempts to try it again, I can simply appeal; and my appeal would be bolstered by the previous verdict of not being found guilty."

"Sounds like it wastes a lot of time." Harry grunted. "I mean, someone could easily fix the system so –"

He stopped as he heard a knock come from the door downstairs. A frown came to his face as he walked to the bedroom door and opened it slightly, to make sure he wasn't hearing anything. Sure enough, the knock came once more, sounding more insistent. He closed the door, coming back to the bed to sit down. The windows gradually stopped rattling and the night table settled down.

"Someone is knocking on the door," he whispered. "Just let them knock; whatever it is, it can wait until morning."

They sat there for a moment, not saying anything, as the knocking continued, not stopping. It kept on for a few more minutes before it stopped. Harry scowled wondering what could have made the knocking stop when Lucius spoke to him in a hushed voice.

"What kind of wards did you set up?"

"Someone needs express permission to come into the house. I have to say they can come; sort of like a verbal password."

Lucius' brows furrowed. "And if someone in the house has your express permission? Could they invite someone in?"

Harry's brows furrowed in puzzlement. "No, I don't think so."

But he couldn't hide the worried tone and they both rose and went to the guest bedroom opening the door. The bed was rumpled and conspicuously empty. Harry swore and hurried for the stairs, Lucius behind him. Even now, he could hear the sound of murmurs at the front door.

"Draco!" he called as he scrambled down the stairs. "Don't!"

He jumped the last few steps and hit the floor with a thud, hurrying around to the front door, drawing his wand. He turned the corner, coming to an abrupt halt. Draco lay crumpled on the ground, surrounded by figures in black robes and white masks. He couldn't see the faces except for the one in the middle. He recognised the figure with that blonde hair with darker streaks in it. But those dark blue irises now shone with a glittering hate and triumph.

"Harry Potter." The words were spat out. "How kind of you to welcome us into your home."

Harry didn't say anything, steadily backing away. He made it to the corner when Octavia raised her wand and aimed it at Draco.

"Ah, no fleeing anywhere now, or poor Draco here will suffer for it." She tsked in a mocking tone.

Harry stopped moving, still holding his wand. Octavia's eyes landed on it and she motioned curtly to her left for someone to take it. A short figure stepped forward, and Harry caught the momentary glimpse of a silver hand.

"Pettigrew!" he spat, feeling his anger rise.

Peter stopped for a moment, looking back to Octavia. "Mistress Malfoy?"

"You idiot!" she seethed. "You incompetent idiot!"

Harry looked back at Octavia in disbelief; that was Narcissa Malfoy? Well, it certainly explained a lot about Ginny's change in behaviour. And why no one had been able to find her, at least. She'd changed her appearance to look like a 16 year old.

"Forgive me Mistress!" Peter ran back to Narcissa's feet and started grovelling.

"Get off me!" she kicked at Peter.

Harry found it a bit strange to see a diminutive 16 year old kicking at a fat, balding 36 year old man. But he had a rather strong urge to kick Peter as well. He watched this and felt fingertips brush against his back for a moment. Lucius was still hidden by the corner. He felt them move down in short imperious motion. It didn't take a genius to figure out. He swallowed and watched as Narcissa kicked Peter off and ordered him to stand up. He was just getting to his feet when Harry dropped to the ground, causing the remaining Death Eaters to draw their own wands. He kept a tight grip on his own wand just in case.

"Expelliarmus!"

Harry watched as a series of wands went flying from unprepared hands. He scrambled forward, getting to his feet. He kicked Peter squarely on the tailbone, sending him flying straightforward into Narcissa. He grabbed Draco, picking him as best he could. From the corner of his eyes, he could see the other Death Eaters coming in closer to him.

"Incendio!" he cried, making a sweeping motion with his wand.

The Death Eaters jumped back, trying to get their wands and hastily trying to out the intense fire on their robes. Harry struggled to his feet and found Lucius beside him. Lucius picked up Draco and slung him over his shoulder as if he weighed nothing. Harry cast a quick accio and wands came flying to his hands. He managed to keep a grip on them all and opened the front door.

"Follow me!" he said.

Lucius nodded his head and Harry flung the wands as far as he could in the opposite direction as they hurried for the stairwell. The door closed with a bang and Harry sealed it shut before hurrying down the stairs. He could hear Draco groaning as he was jounced on Lucius shoulder, but he didn't have time to pay attention to that now. The front doors were probably being watched and the back doors probably were as well. There weren't many Death Eaters left roaming free, but it was the most dangerous few that were.

"Which way now?" Lucius asked as they came down into the lobby, and Harry looked around, still a bit unsure as he sealed the door shut.

"No way is good," Harry said in a frustrated voice. "And if they came through the front, they've probably eliminated the cameras. But they could be waiting in the back, which is even worse and –"

"Pick one!" Lucius ground out, as distant bangs sounded from the stairwell they just left.

"Front!" Harry said as he ran forward.

He held the door open and Lucius went through it, before they stepped out into the street, feeling the acute nip of coldness in the air. Harry just looked both ways, before opting on the brightly-lit side. Hopefully, something would still be open and they could hide out there for a bit, and get their bearings.

"Are you sure you know where you're going?" Lucius demanded as they hurried down the street.

"No bloody clue; but somewhere safe is a good idea!" Harry exclaimed.

"Then stay put and I'll Apparate us to the mansion!"

"I think that would be the obvious place! What about Hogwarts?"

"You can't Apparate into Hogwarts!" Lucius came to a stop and ducked into an alleyway. "Salazar, he's getting fat." He grunted as he slipped Draco from his shoulder.

Harry bent down quickly and woke Draco up. Draco started but Harry clamped a hand over his mouth with a warning look in his eyes. Draco nodded his head slowly a moment later and Harry removed his hand.

"What were you thinking!" Harry hissed a moment later.

"Me? You obviously have faulty wards if I can –"

Harry had wound himself up for a stinging reply but was stopped as he was cuffed right on the head as was Draco. Lucius was frowning down at them with a disgusted look that said, "Some where else, another time". Harry rubbed the back of his head, thinking for a moment.

"I think it's pretty obvious that they want me," he said. "So I'll lure them away and you both get help."

"No one's going to believe Father if he shows up saying you've been kidnapped. They'll think he did it. It should just be me. If anything, he can stay with you and –"

"Aha!"

Harry looked up to find a gleaming white mask. He didn't even think, raising his wand and uttering the first curse he could think of. The Death Eater reeled back with shriek, scrabbling at the mask in an attempt to rip it off. The three of them rushed to their feet and left the alley onto the other street it led to. Harry could hear the sounds of chase behind them.

"Park." He managed as he veered off down another side street.

Lucius and Draco fell in behind him and it took a few minutes before they reached the park and Harry made a direct beeline for a thick clump of bushes. He lay flat on his back, attempting to not breathe so hard as Lucius and Draco settled beside him. He's probably run at least twenty blocks in less than ten minutes.

"All right, they're coming," Draco whispered. "I'll lure them away. You _both_ stay here. And don't get any nasty ideas about heroics, Potter."

And with that the younger Malfoy was gone with a rustling of branches. Harry sat up a few minutes later as the Death Eaters came into the park. He watched silently as Narcissa gave a few orders that the rest obeyed and obediently fanned out, searching. It didn't take long for him to hear the sounds of Draco fighting some of them. He made a motion forward, but was stopped by Lucius grabbing his arm with an iron grip.

Harry looked over at him, opening his mouth to say something, but Lucius shook his head with a warning look. It seemed very difficult for him to sit back and not respond at all to the sounds of fighting coming from so close by. He sat beside Lucius, listening as a few Death Eaters came back and talked quietly among themselves. Harry could feel Lucius tense beside him. And when the Death Eaters disappeared to either side of the large clump of bushes. He had a bad feeling and motioned that they should leave their spot and try to slip away. Lucius nodded and they crawled out as quietly as possible. They were just getting to their feet when the smell of something burning came. They looked back and found the bush they had been hiding in was glowing a foreboding orange red.

"This way." Harry said quietly as he pointed to a path.

Lucius nodded and they started only to find it blocked by two Death Eaters. They fired curses and tried to take another path leading away from the park only to find that it too was blocked. Harry realised with a sinking feeling that they had been caught in a very classic pincer movement that now closed into a circle around them.

They drew in closer together, eyeing the Death Eaters warily. The Death Eaters were looking at them, eyes glaring from behind the masks. One of the Death Eaters finally cracked and cast the first spell. Harry couldn't fully keep track of what happened after that. All he knew was that he was firing spells, curses, jinxes, whatever would do the most damage while ducking and trying to keep his body intact. Everything was lost in frenetic battle.

The ground and asphalt became pockmarked and increasingly difficult to move over. Harry had just ducked to the side of a nasty slashing curse when his foot caught in a small crater and he sprawled to the ground, skinning his forearm on the asphalt to the side.

"Obscura!"

There wasn't anything he could do as the curse hit him square in the face and everything went pitch black. He fought down the momentary panic that threatened to grip him and pretended to panic, giving a cry of anguish and feeling around his eyes in a panic. When he felt hands on him and a triumphant laugh, he knew a body was close by. He wasted no time, jamming the tip of his wand against the nearest body part.

"Incendio maxima!" he yelled.

The pained scream was accompanied by a bright burst of heat that seared against him and he scrabbled back as fast as he could. But he could still feel the heat against his leg and he rolled in the dirt, trying to pat it out as best he could.

Then there were more hands on him, pinning him down to the ground. He struggled, managing to free a limb every so often, but it was only pinned back down. He wanted to call for Lucius, but who knew how they would handle that particular information and use it against him. He settled on swearing vehemently, uttering as many curses he could think of sprinkled in between, feeling the anger rising within him. There were increasingly peculiar sounds coming from all around him, especially grunts of pain from the people holding him, but he continued to struggle, curses still streaming from his mouth.

"Shut him up! Control him before he gets out of hand!" Narcissa shrieked her voice oddly nasal.

That was the last thing that Harry heard before something hit him hard on the head and he slumped into unconsciousness.

* * *


	34. Chapter 33

_**Come the Maëlstrom**_

_Chapter Thirty Three_

Severus was in the habit of sending cryptic notes. However, he wasn't too happy to be on the receiving end of one of them. In addition to being cryptic, was the manner in which it was written. Potter's writing wouldn't be winning penmanship awards, but it was but it was generally neat enough to be legible enough. This hastily scrawled monstrosity only managed to convey that something was wrong. He sat at his office desk, wondering if he should owl Hermione and ask her to translate – as that was probably the most accurate description of what would need to be done– this scrap of parchment when his office door opened. He looked up and found Hermione standing there, a paper clutched tightly in her hand.

"Hermione," he rose from his desk. "If I may, Potter sent this piece of illegible garbage and –"

The remainder of Severus' sentence dried up as Hermione ran forward and hugged him tightly, her body shaking. He froze for a moment, surprised before he tried to pull her away to see her face. Her grip on him simply tightened, causing him to sigh heavily in resignation. Right where her face was, he could feel a damp patch developing from what must have been tears. He looked at his open office door and flicked his wand at it. It swung shut and he turned his attention back to Hermione. He wasn't all too sure what to do so he settled on stroking her hair.

"Now," he began after a few minutes. "Would you care to tell me what has you so disturbed?"

Hermione sniffled as she drew back a bit, holding up a newspaper. "Harry's missing. They think he's been kidnapped."

Severus said nothing as he took the paper from her and looked down to see the image of a pockmarked ground and the large front page headline of, "Boy-Who-Lived – Kidnapped in Death Eater plot". A scowl came to his face as he opened the paper and was faced with an archive photo of Draco and the second headline of "Malfoy heir tells all!". Severus resisted the urge to burn the paper to ashes and hex said ashes as he looked at who wrote the article.

"Rose Yasutoko," he snarled as he looked at the front page. "The new Rita Skeeter in training."

"I tried to tell him that Dumbledore only wanted to help him but he said he would be fine on his own." Hermione sniffled. "And now this happens, and I warned him to be careful, I warned him, and –"

"This is far from your fault Hermione." Severus said firmly. "I daresay Potter should have had better wards in place if they could manage to get into his home and drive him from it."

"Why would you say that?" Hermione asked, wiping at her eyes.

"I know how they operate. Shall I assume that Dumbledore knows about this already?"

"I guess he does. I didn't think to see him first."

"We'll do that now then," Severus said. "If we work quickly enough, Potter may just have a chance."

Hermione nodded and left from the office. Severus took a moment to write out a note that the morning class was cancelled and stick it to the classroom door before they made their way to Dumbledore's office. The gargoyle sprang aside as they reached it and they remained silent as they walked up the staircase. When Severus opened the door, a strange sight greeted him. Ron Weasley stood next to his brother Percy, two unfamiliar figures were seated in the chairs and Lupin was standing beside Fawkes' stand with a serious expression on his face. Albus regarded them from his seat.

"Please close the door behind you," Albus said. "We have a very grave situation on our hands."

Hermione nodded and closed the door. Almost immediately, Ron was beside her.

"You all right 'Mione?" Ron asked.

"I'm fine," Hermione said in a small voice. "I figured someone should get –"

"Good thinking," Ron nodded.

Severus didn't say anything as Ron looked at him for a moment, a resigned expression on his freckled face. Well, that certainly was a new one. He was expecting nothing less than spitting anger.

"Why don't you both have a seat?" Albus said, conjuring two more seats.

Severus shook his head, but Hermione sat down. Ron took the other chair and moved it closer to her, murmuring something. She was nodding her head and leaning in closely as well. A somewhat irrational queasy feeling of jealously rose up in Severus' stomach but he quashed it immediately.

"As it seems we all got here within minutes of each other," Albus began. "So why don't you tell us what you've learned so far Ron."

Ron rose clearing his throat. "Well, Harry and I were at dinner one night and we got to talking about Ginny. I won't go into the details but we noticed some very odd things about her. First Ginny said that she wasn't sure who was responsible and then she starts accusing Lucius Malfoy as if she saw only him do it. And then after a family dinner…" he glanced at Percy. "Something not right with Ginny. I think it might be connected to her new friend and Harry's disappearance."

"And from all indications, Mr. Weasley's guess would be correct," the man in the chair said as he rose.

"And you would be?" Severus asked archly, taking in the ratty shoes, ripped jeans and stained shirt.

"Jaime Carter." The man inclined his head. "Sorry I look like a mess; I was doing some home repairs when I got Mr. Weasley's firecall. Now, I've been working the case for the past week. And I'll tell you one thing; there has never been an Octavia Miller. Whoever this person is, they're very adept at disappearing and concealing themselves."

"Tell me about it," a woman in the corner snorted, looking over one of Albus' knickknacks. "It's like looking for a flobberworm on a muddy, rainy day."

"This is Morgan Hunter," Ron explained. "She's been working with Jaime for the past few days."

"This 'Octavia' is a very slippery person," Morgan continued on without missing a beat. "One minute you have her in sight, next she's gone; it's almost like she's playing with us. The only thing I've seen at this level is –"

"A Death Eater." Severus finished for her.

Morgan nodded her head gravely. "If we are dealing with those remaining rogue Death Eaters, we have to act fast. They're desperate and in a very bad position, and we don't know how they'll react."

"What about Draco? Apparently Yatsuoko's article indicates that he was present." Severus asked.

"Tonks is with him now at St. Mungo's," Remus said. "Morgan's right. The quicker we act, the better our chances."

"I think what is needed is some damage control," Percy stepped forward a bit. "Before we have Merlin knows how many amateurs out there looking for Harry and getting themselves hurt, or possibly killed."

"Not to mention complicating our jobs." Jaime grumbled. "I'd like to get my hands on that silly twit."

"It would be greatly appreciated if you and Miss Hunter would work with some of our best Aurors on this case." Percy had a resolute expression on his face.

"Who is working the case?" Morgan asked, slight curiosity in her voice.

"Nymphadora Tonks, Okolo and Lindsay Harrigan." Percy replied. "Between the five of you, I have full confidence that this can be resolved quickly."

"You bet," Jaime grinned like a kid in a candy store. "Ministry resources."

"Within reason." Morgan said in a patient voice.

"Wait a minute," Ron said. "Isn't Tonks Lucius Malfoy's parole officer? Why would she need something else to worry about?"

"How do you know that?" Percy demanded.

"People talk at work you know." Ron simply said.

Percy nodded his head but had a displeased expression on his face. Albus turned to face Ron, his expression grave.

"Tonks sent in a very preliminary report," Albus began. "All she could find out from Draco when he was brought into St. Mungo's was that Lucius was there as well. And taken with Harry. We must find them both for Lucius' safety as well as Harry's."

Ron's brow furrowed. "What on Earth would Mr. Malfoy be doing anywhere near Harry? Draco… Draco I can understand."

"That we don't know," Albus said. "And I'm sure Tonks is doing her best to find out. Does this bother you?"

"I'll get over it Sir. We need to get Harry back before something bad happens to him." Ron replied.

"Definitely," Percy said. "How about we get back to the Ministry and get started on looking for them?" Percy looked between Jamie and Morgan.

Both nodded their heads and the three left the room quickly murmuring goodbyes. Severus watched as Albus regarded Ron for a moment.

"This is quite out of your hands now and – "

"No it's not," Ron said fiercely. "I'm not going to sit and let them do all the work."

"Ron – " Hermione began.

"I won't!" he snapped.

"I was going to say maybe you should inform Parvati."

Ron's jaw tightened. "I haven't seen her since a few days after dinner. Her parents found out about us."

"Oh no," Hermione said. "Was it that bad?"

"I sent owls, firecalls, gotten nothing and…" Ron stopped, taking a deep breath. "Look, I can't just sit around and do nothing."

Albus looked gravely at Ron. "Very well then. As you were a candidate for Auror school, that certainly says something." He turned to Severus. "If I may ask you – "

"Done." Severus cut him off, already running through a mental checklist of who could be squeezed for information.

"And take Ron along with you, if you don't mind."

Severus watched Albus for a moment, before looking at Ron. The redhead was looking at him in shock and surprise, his face an ashy colour. It seemed like the possibility of working together had just occurred to him and he couldn't accept it. But he still looked like he was willing to do whatever it took. Only someone like Weasley could blend two separate emotions into one expression.

"While Mr. Weasley might have been an Auror candidate, considering the places I will have to… attend, that might not be a wise idea."

"I don't think anything you might encounter would be worse than a Dementor." Ron said tightly.

"He raises a very valid point." Albus said. "But I shall leave the decision up to you."

Severus looked at Ron for a moment, before he glanced at Hermione, and then Albus. He didn't even have to look at Ron; there would definitely be a resolute hope on his face. Hermione and Albus looked like they were ready to weigh his decision very carefully against some moral standard he had yet to see. He pursed his lips and made a curt motion for Ron to rise. The redhead scrambled to his feet.

"We leave immediately. You are to remain quiet and speak only when spoken to. Any foolishness on your part and you'll find yourself back here, understood?"

"Yes." Ron said.

"Excellent!" Albus beamed. "And I could certainly use your help Hermione; I daresay there will be a lot of information to sort through when it starts coming in."

"Not a problem Sir." Hermione replied as she made herself comfortable in her chair.

Severus looked at her once and she gave a slight smile and nod. He inclined his head slightly and turned to leave the room, Ron's hasty steps behind him. He could hear Albus asking Hermione if she knew of any good socks and how she liked her tea as he stepped from the office and down the stairs.

"Er, Sir," Ron began.

Severus only stopped long enough to give Ron a withering look. Ron fell silent and after that the rest of the trip was made in silence. It didn't take long to leave Hogwarts and head down the path to Hogsmeade. Severus looked back at the school once and judged that they were certainly past any of the wards.

"Um, Sir?" Ron asked in hesitant voice as he stopped walking. "Why did you stop?"

Severus looked at Ron, resisting the urge to snipe at him. Gryffindors were the worst for obeying instructions "I believe that should be obvious."

Ron looked puzzled for a few moments before a light of understanding appeared in his eyes. "You're Apparating?"

"If you wish to Floo, by all means, go right ahead." Severus said caustically.

"Oh… er…" Ron began fidgeting.

"What now?" Severus asked, irritation in his voice.

"Well, you see…" Ron began slowly.

"Spit it out! I don't have time to dawdle!" Severus barked.

"I can't Apparate yet; I'm saving up to take the test."

"Oh for…" Severus said in a disgusted tone. "Come here."

Ron hurried up and Severus scowled down at him with crossed arms. "What now Sir?"

"I suggest you hold on tight. If you splinch because you have a poor grip, I will _not_ be happy."

A horrified look crossed Ron's face before he screwed up his face, took a deep breath and threw his arms around Severus' midsection. Severus wasn't quite expecting the strength behind the move and felt his ribs forcibly constrict and the air rush from his lungs.

"Not so tight, you twit!" he wheezed and smacked Ron hard on the head.

Ron winced and relaxed his grip. "Sorry Sir."

Severus grumbled and closed his eyes, concentrating on the small spot tucked away out of sight behind a building, close to the entranceway to Knockturn Alley. Once it was fixed in his mind, he willed himself and Ron to go there. Everything seemed disoriented for a few seconds before it was all over with. Severus only waited long enough to see that Ron wouldn't topple to the ground before he shoved Ron's arms off of himself and started walking again.

They walked quickly through the fairly empty Diagon Alley streets, attracting no attention. When he stepped into Knockturn Alley, he could hear Ron's steps quicken behind him. Well if the boy did eventually become an Auror, better he learn about this place sooner, rather than later. Severus went into a number of establishments, and found none of the information that he needed. He had a feeling it was because of the Weasley's presence as most of his contacts were appraising the second youngest Weasley and giving him half-hearted answers, despite varied threats. He had one place left to go, and should it yield nothing, he would have to come back and repeat the entire trip, minus one brat.

It didn't take long before the sign advertising _tête-à-tête_ was visible, creaking slightly as it swung. Severus looked back at Ron who had a grim expression on his face.

"After this, we're done." Severus simply, a hand on the doorknob.

"Is it because I'm here?" Ron asked. "That you can't… you know, get any straight answers."

"Yes." Severus replied as he strode into the bar.

It was dimly lit and had the usual patrons nursing the glasses of alcohol. Severus surveyed the room for a moment before he walked up to the bar. The barman gave him with a sour expression as he restocked glasses.

"What do you want?"

"Your manners are horrible Richard," Severus tsked; the quickest way to get an answer out this man was to annoy him.

Richard ground his teeth a bit. "I said what do you want?

"Grund. Where is he?"

"He's busy in the back at the moment," Richard went back to the glasses.

"Surely he can't be that busy."

"He can be." Richard grunted.

"Very well. Then I shall need a room." Severus said, changing tact quickly.

Richard looked at Severus before he shifted slightly and looked at Ron, just behind him. "And since when were you that inclined?"

"That is none of your business," Severus replied easily as he reached in his pocket and brought out a money purse, jangling it lightly.

Richard made a face but his eyes never left the money purse. "Fine, you can have one. A Galleon an hour."

Severus paid the man and motioned to Ron. Those freckles looked abnormally bright against pale skin. Ron looked as white as a sheet. Richard moved out from behind the bar and drew out a key ring, unlocking a door that led to the back.

"Don't disturb Grund." Richard said as they walked in. "I don't think even you want to deal with his temper."

Severus slid the Richard a cold look. Richard grumbled to himself and closed the door with a slight slam. The hallway was just as dimly lit and had only five doors. There were four with two on each side, and one at the end. Only the door at the end was shut tight; the rest were open a crack.

"Sir?" Ron said in a shaky voice.

"As my contact is undoubtedly busy at the moment, I'll have to catch his attention sufficiently enough." He glanced at Ron. "Should you feel the urge to be sick, do try to aim away from me."

Ron got a puzzled looked on his face. Severus strode down the hallway, before pausing a few feet from the door and drawing his wand. He didn't waste any time, swishing his wand and bringing it down with a fast hard motion. This spell was most effective when conceptualised rather than spoken. The result was the door flying open with a tremendous bang. Severus strode into the room, with Ron right on his heels. The room was sparsely furnished having only a bed, night table and a chair. The bed was a complete mess and there was Grund, scars and all, looking at Severus in surprise. Severus didn't even want to look down and see who was occupying the bed this time, but he could see a child's knobbly elbows from the corners of his eyes and the glint of a blade on the night table and the dull gleam of matte metal around a neck.

"Oh my God."

Those were the only words Ron gasped out before the sound of retching came. Severus didn't say anything for a moment, keeping his wand on Grund. Considering some of Grund's… proclivities, this was rather mild for him. Rectifying this situation would have to wait until a later time; namely informing the appropriate people and seeing this seedy part of _tête-à-tête_ closed down once and for all.

"I'm so glad you're not occupied at the moment," Severus said in a deprecating tone. "As I need information."

"You're getting shit out of me. Now get lost." Grund growled.

"Consider it the last thing I might ever curse you for." Severus said easily.

Grund considered that for a long moment before he snapped an order to the child and got off the bed. He stood there, naked and arms crossed with a belligerent expression on his face.

"Well, what do you want to know?"

"The last few Death Eaters. What have you heard?"

Grund snorted. "What hasn't anyone else heard? It's – hey!"

The child had scrambled from the bed and went directly for Ron, clinging to him for all they were worth. Grund looked angry, and started towards Ron. Severus only looked long enough to see a young boy's face. Ron looked momentarily surprised before he drew his wand aiming it at Grund, an arm going around the boy. Dear Merlin, Ron just complicated everything. If he felt the need to be heroic, couldn't he have done it _after_ the information had been extracted?

"You didn't pay for him, so give him back." Grund snarled nastily as he approached Ron looking like he could break him in half.

"How about I rip your guts out you sick fuck." Ron's voice shook a bit, but his hand remained steady. "Or I ask what the kid wants done to you."

"He'll want nothing done to me." Grund said giving the boy a warning look.

"You'd be surprised the things kids can think of when they're angry enough." Ron said.

"Kill him!" the boy screamed shrilly. "Kill him! Rip his guts from his body and strangle him with it!"

"No one's being killed until I get what I want," Severus ordered harshly. "It seems that you're in a very bad position Grund. Maybe talking is the best way to save your skin. I'm feeling indulgent today."

Severus watched as Grund looked between him and then Ron before he lunged for the bedside table. He half expected that. "Accio wand!" he cried.

"Accio knife!"

The wand came flying to his hand, past Grund's grasp. The knife went streaking towards Ron; all the redhead did was move to the side, shielding the boy, and allow it to embed itself into the wall. The boy looked at it with wide eyes, shrinking in closer to Ron. Grund ended up sprawled on the ground, expletives streaming from his mouth. Severus kept a tight grip on the wand as well as his own. The boy's grip tightened on Ron's clothes, watching Grund with an intense loathing. Grund staggered to his feet, looking murderously at Severus and Ron. Severus was in no mood to deal with that.

"If you would be so kind…" he trailed off, looking at Ron for a moment.

"I'll talk!" Grund gasped before Ron could even say or do anything. "I'll talk you bloody bastard. You'll pay for this – "

"Death threats make me very irritable," Ron warned, his wand giving off bluish sparks.

Grund gave him a nasty look that said he was next after Severus. But the large man took a deep breath and started talking. "Narcissa took command and they were holed up somewhere near Penzance."

"Narcissa?" Severus repeated in surprise; he hadn't thought the self-absorbed woman capable of anything beyond spending Galleons or griping about trite things.

"Yes, Narcissa; still married to Lucius Malfoy. Apparently, you were doing a good job of breaking up that – argh!"

Grund fell back to the ground as his legs wobbled. Severus watched him impassively.

"How careless of me," he mused in a mocking apology. "I seem to have hit you with a Jelly Legs curse."

"You bastard! You're getting nothing else from me!" Grund swore. "You can rot in hell for the rest of arrrggh!"

Severus watched as Grund flailed on the floor. He looked over at Ron just in time to see a bright orange spell fly from the wand tip and land on the back of Grund's knee.

"How about you quit griping and tell us the rest or I'll hit you with a stinging curse again." Ron said evenly as welts appeared on Grund's body.

Severus watched as Grund swore and Ron kept casting spells at him. It didn't escape his notice that Ron hit the softest parts of the body. It didn't take long before all Ron had to do was move his wand and Grund would move, attempting to dodge something that wasn't coming. Severus wouldn't admit it, but it was a very useful tactic, one that was quite impressive.

"Will you talk now?" Ron asked a few minutes later.

Grund panted from his spot on the ground, glaring up at Ron. "They left Penzance a bit ago. Last I heard they were somewhere between Cornwall and Dover."

"Are you lying to me?" Severus asked archly.

Grund swore vehemently. "I hope you _both_ get ripped apart slowly before you rot in hell!"

"That's not a yes or no," Severus said simply.

"No!" Grund exclaimed. "Now get lost and let me get back to what I was doing!"

"How about not," Ron said flatly. "How about I take the kid and leave you be. Certainly better than calling in an Auror, don't you think?"

Severus glanced sharply at Ron, with a warning look. He was treading onto dangerous territory. Grund rose to his feet, wincing slightly, but his eyes still fixed on Ron's.

"Don't get uppity with me you little brat. Severus may tolerate it, but I sure as hell won't. Now, hand the boy over before I kill you with my bare hands."

Severus watched as Grund stepped forward a bit. "Do as he says."

"No!" Ron exclaimed angrily, eyes still on the large hulking man. "I won't!"

"You've tried my patience enough," Grund growled. "Hand him over, or you'll both regret it."

"And I have none for paedophiles." Ron spat.

"Just do it!" Severus barked.

"Bite me!" Ron snarled, looking at Severus for a moment.

That was the only moment, Grund needed as he charged for Ron with a roar. The words of a curse were forming on Severus' lips when he caught a blur of motion from Ron's side. Then the room was filled with a screech.

It all seemed to happen in slow motion, as the boy let go of Ron, grabbed the blade from the wall and ran for Grund, both small hands grasping the hilt tightly. Grund noticed the boy only when it was too late and the blade sank into his crotch up to the hilt. The roar changed to one of pain as he stumbled back and fell on the floor, trying to flee from the attack. His head hit the floor with a sickeningly loud crack and he went unnaturally still. But the boy didn't let up and leapt on his stomach, blade sinking in repeatedly with a crazed expression.

"Stop! Stop!" Ron yelled, scrambling forward after a moment of shock.

Severus was much quicker and stunned the boy. The small body toppled to the floor, blade falling from senseless fingers. But the damage was done. A pool of blood was forming around Grund's body, as he bled out from the crotch and the numerous stab wounds on his stomach. Ron slipped a bit in the pool of blood and looked at the boy in a slight panic.

"We have to get someone here!"

"No, this is what's going to be done," Severus said simply. "I will get Richard back here. He will tidy up this mess. And we will leave."

"You can't be serious!" Ron exclaimed as he roused the boy.

Severus watched as panic started settling in those young eyes "I am serious," he said flatly. "If you want to be an Auror, learn this: things are very different in Knockturn than they are in Diagon. Now if you will stun the boy and leave him on the bed, I'll see about having Richard dispose of this body."

The boy made a vehement sound of protest and clung to Ron, blubbering all the while as Severus started down the hallway. He could faintly hear the sounds of Ron trying his best to placate the boy. He opened the door a crack and waited until Richard looked over. He didn't do anything beside make a curt motion for the man to come. Then he retreated back to the room. Ron had taken off his shirt and pulled it over the boy at some point. And the boy was stunned, so Ron must have managed to calm him down and clothe him before the stunning. But Ron was holding him in his arms with a stubborn expression on his face. He seemed to have no inclination to leave the boy on the bed.

"I'm not leaving the kid." he said resolutely.

"Then he's your responsibility." Severus said simply; bloody noble Gryffindors would be the death of him.

Ron looked momentarily surprised but nodded his head.

"What's going on here?" Richard looked into the room, face paling when his eyes landed on Grund's body. "What do you think you're doing?" he hissed.

"Informing you of the mess that you have to clean up." Severus stated as he motioned to Ron and started down the hallway.

"I didn't kill him!" Richard exclaimed angrily. "And just where d'you think are you taking him?"

Severus turned around to see Richard glaring at Ron. And Ron's expression was dark, face flushing the infamous angry Weasley red. Good Merlin, would the things never cease? Why did he seem to be surrounded with the most stubborn people on the face of the very earth?

"I'm taking him with me," Ron said finally in a quiet voice. "If you have a problem with that, why don't you go talk to the Ministry. Though they might have a small problem with the sort of business you're running here."

Richard looked galled and outraged for a moment. But then he swallowed and nodded his head, turning his attention back to Grund's body. Severus didn't flinch as the door was slammed shut behind them, but Ron squeaked in surprise before he sighed in audible relief. Severus looked back at him with hard gaze. Ron looked back at him, puzzled.

"Yes, Sir?" he asked a moment later.

"Tell me," Severus began as he paused walking. "Where did you learn tactics like those?"

Ron didn't say anything for a moment. "What does it matter? We got the information we need."

"That is not an answer to the question." Severus stated in a withering voice.

Silence filled the hallway as he regarded Ron for a long moment, with a slight scowl and his arms crossed over his chest. It only took a few minutes for Ron to squirm uncomfortably.

"Hex the Augrey." Ron finally mumbled.

"Speak up." Severus ordered.

"Hex the Augrey," Ron said a bit louder. "We used a modified version for the DA."

"Modified how?"

"We used nastier hexes and curses," Ron mumbled. "Harry and 'Mione figured it would be good incentive for people to learn to duck spells cast at them if they actually hurt"

Somehow, Severus was not all that surprised. He watched Ron for a moment. "When we get back to Hogwarts, you will bring this to the Headmaster's attention. Such a drill _will_ not be needed any longer."

"Yes Sir."

"And the bluffing?"

"Bluffing?" Ron echoed.

"You sounded relieved for no reason at all?" Severus asked in a somewhat irritated voice; he found himself wishing he could dock house points for sheer stupidity, even if it was nothing but useless.

"Oh," that," Ron didn't say anything for a moment. "That was necessary when playing Hex the Augrey with Fred and George."

Severus watched him for a moment before continued walking, out from _tête-à-tête_ and back to the very fringe of Diagon Alley; Ron's steps not that far behind him. He paused for a minute and looked out, not noticing many people. However, Ron walking out of Knockturn Alley, shirtless, a bit bloody and carrying an unconscious boy was bound to attract attention. Once the morning crowd thinned out considerably, he motioned for Ron to hurry after him. They made it to the Leaky Cauldron without notice. He hurried Ron over to the fireplaces before Tom the barman looked over their way. Ron had just disappeared in with a burst of green flame when Tom spied him and waved hello.

Severus didn't even bother to respond, simply pretending as if he hadn't noticed and stepped into the fireplace. He reached out and grasped a handful of Floo powder. It wasn't long before he was standing inside the Three Broomsticks, with Madame Rosemerta looking at him. Ron was standing off to the side with a somewhat flustered expression.

"Would you care to explain this?" Rosemerta asked him, gesturing to Ron, as he stepped out from the fireplace and dusted the remaining Floo powder from his robes.

"I believe that young Mr. Weasley has taken in a stray." He replied coolly. "And we must be heading back to the castle. Urgent business."

Rosemerta didn't say anything as she nodded her head, motioning them to the door as she headed in the back for something. Ron was already pushing the door open with his back and stepping outside. Severus followed after him, and they hurried along as the street was fairly empty and no one noticed Ron yet.

"Er… why didn't we just Apparate back Sir?" Ron asked as they reached the fringes of Hogsmeade.

"Apparating with a unconscious person is not a wise idea." Severus said simply.

Ron opened his mouth, as if to ask another question, but thought the better of it.

The walk back up to the castle was silent, save for the sound of feet against dirt and the occasional discomforted grunt that the boy made. Severus wouldn't have gone about it in Weasley's particular manner, though, for all its problematic rashness, it did some good. By the time they reached the Hogwarts gates, the boy was awake once more, looking at him in wary silence. Severus didn't say anything, and Ron certainly didn't appear to notice. But then again, the redhead had been full of surprises today. They walked along the side, coming in through the courtyard doors. There were a few students milling about, and they got curious looks as they headed up to the second floor. By the time they reached the door to the staircase leading up to Dumbledore's office, the boy had wrapped his arms around Ron's neck.

"Perhaps the infirmary would be the best place for him." Severus said as he turned to look at Ron.

"Yes Sir." Ron said as he started for the flight of stairs up.

The child was staring at him all the while, and once they had rounded the curve, Severus let a small shiver pass over him. He figured the boy would be in hysterics now, not have that cold, calculating expression in his eyes. He shrugged it off, said the password, and climbed the stairs and opening the door.

There was a large map attached to a wall and Hermione was holding a sheaf of papers in her hands. She had a few red pins between her lips and every so often, she would refer to the sheaf and push a pin into a particular place on a map. It wasn't until he was a few steps away that she noticed him.

"Dumbledore isn't here." She said around the pins. "He went down to the infirmary. I think he's eaten those lemon drops of his for the last time."

"How surprising." Severus replied caustically.

Hermione glanced at him but her lips curled into a smile. "Give me a moment. I'm almost done."

He watched as she looked over the papers once more before taking three pins and sticking them on the map. She gave a satisfied smile and placed the papers on a tabletop before placing the pins on top.

"Now, then," she began but trailed off, looking at him with a furrow in her brow. "Where's Ron?"

"The infirmary; he's perfectly fine." Severus explained as Hermione's face clouded with worry. "He brought back a… stray with him."

Hermione's expression cleared up and she sighed. "Well, I've just about finished with this triangulation spell."

Severus looked back at the map, seeing the red pins gleaming dully in the sunlight. There was a trail from Hogwarts and led further and further south. It stopped abruptly at London and from there the pins were scattered about all over. He felt an admiring smile come to his face. Triangulation spells were fairly difficult, and required multiple factors to be considered in order to be successful. It was taught in seventh year, but many students didn't bother with them simply because of the work involved. But so far, it seemed like she was doing a very good job.

"Were you able to find out anything?" she asked.

"They could be anywhere between Cornwall and Dover." He said with a slight frown.

"Hm." Hermione's face became thoughtful as she turned back to the map. "Well, let's see if we can verify that, shall we?"

Severus watched as she drew her wand and traced out a triangle in the air, a soft murmur coming from her lips. She continued this, her voice speeding up gradually, until it sounded like an unintelligible babble. But there on map, he could see the faint gleaming lines of a triangle that was starting to form. Her wand was still outstretched and she pressed it forward a bit insistently. The line grew clearer before it flared.

Hermione let out a shaky breath, her wand dropping. She wiped at her brow and looked at the map before she made a frustrated sound. "I must not have included enough variables. That's a huge area to cover."

"But it also corroborates my information as well," he said, eyes following the line that stretched from the dot marked Cornwall to the one marked Dover.

"I can do it again," she began, brushing the pins off and picking up the sheets of paper. "I can narrow down the area and – "

Severus reached over and plucked the papers from her hand. "What we have now is more than enough information to go on. The last thing you need to do is overextend yourself."

Hermione looked like she was far from pleased but slowly nodded her head. "Better to be doing something than nothing I suppose."

"Precisely. And you have done more than enough." Severus said.

Hermione nodded and scooped up the pins quickly, walked over to Dumbledore's desk and placed them in a container. Severus sat down, making himself comfortable for a moment before closing his eyes. Once Dumbledore came back, it would be a simple matter of informing him and then Percy. And once Tonks and everyone else got started, it was only a matter of time before Potter was found.

"Severus,"

Hermione's voice seemed to come from right beside him He opened his eyes to find that she had pulled up the other chair close to his, fingers tracing out random patterns on the armrest. She was chewing on her lip a bit, an anxious look in her eyes.

"Yes?"

"I really could narrow down the area if I factored in more variables."

"A nice thought, I'm sure." He said flatly.

She took a deep breath. "I just feel like I'm not doing enough."

"You have done more than enough for now." Severus replied finally as he reached over and stilled her hands. "Now stop worrying so much. Potter will more than likely hex them to bits if they're stupid and give him a chance."

"Like that would really happen."

He gave a low chuckle. "Pettigrew is with them. And he has an amazing aptitude for screwing things up."

"Good point." She laughed.

After a few moments, she sighed and patted his hand before rising and wandering up the stairs to look over Albus' books. He watched her for a moment before he rose, following after her. She was standing in front of the bookcase, a hand resting on the edge of the shelf with her head bowed. He walked up behind her and wrapped her up in a loose hug.

"Potter will be fine." He murmured gently in her ear.

Hermione made a small sound and nodded her head, leaning back against his body, arms going around his.

* * *

Hex the Augrey – the wizarding equivalent of the childhood game of Marco Polo, only harmless jinxes are used to catch the others

* * *


	35. Chapter 34

_**Come the Maëlstrom**_

_Chapter Thirty Four_

The air was dry and dusty when Harry woke up. He took a deep breath and found himself having a coughing fit a moment later. He rolled over feeling as if his lungs was about to go flying from his throat. When the fit finally subsided, he sagged against the floor and began organise his thoughts.

Everything was still dark; either the Obscura spell was still working or they just had all the lights out. That put him at a disadvantage but it wasn't that much of a problem. There was still the element of surprise on his side. None of the Death Eaters would be able to guess what he would do since he didn't know himself.

Next was the unusual weight around his wrists so he moved them experimentally. A heavy clinking sound came. He frowned and jerked his hand, a metal cuff biting into the soft skin, links jangling loudly. Ignoring the pain, he felt his way up the chains to feel the last one attached to an anchor that was bolted into the wall.

So, he was chained to a wall and blind as a bat. His wand was most likely gone and he had no idea as to where he was. For all he knew, there could be nobody else for miles around.

"Lu-" he stopped himself, thinking the better of it. "Mr. Malfoy?"

Nothing came except for the sound of a slight rustle somewhere. Harry thought it could have been him, but he wasn't all too sure.

"Mr. Malfoy?" he called again.

No sound came in reply. It must have been his imagination. With a sigh, he sat up and moved back against the wall, trying to alleviate the weight on his now sore wrists.

So now he was blind, chained and alone. The whole rotten situation just got better and better. He could try to mount an escape but he didn't want to leave Lucius behind. And even if he did escape with the intention of coming back, the Death Eaters would be long gone before he could even find help. And that was provided that he could elude them when they hunted him down first. Apparation was out of the question; because he was blinded, he wouldn't be able to properly orient himself.

He shifted, resting his head against the wall and tried to not think too much. It wasn't helping any. Once his eyesight came back, he could see exactly what he was up against and take the appropriate. He couldn't rush any plans though. He had no doubts that any one of the Death Eaters would kill him with just the slightest hint from Narcissa.

Once the soreness in his wrists faded a bit and he shifted his hands into his lap. The room was very quiet now and he could hear a faint sound from somewhere. It sounded like something was roaring, trying to get at something and wasn't succeeding. It sounded a bit like water breaking against rocks. Maybe he was on a coast somewhere. He could vaguely make out the sound of the wind, screaming through something; a crack in the wall maybe? Wherever he was, there must have been a storm of some sort raging about outside.

His feet felt a bit sore from the hell he had put them through. He hadn't even realised that he had done all of that in bare feet. Of course, footwear was the last thing someone thought of when running for their life. It stung a bit when he pressed them flat against the floor, but after the initial shock the chill surface became soothing. When they felt a bit better he stretched his legs out, feeling along the floor with his toes. The floor was made of rounded chunks of stone, fitted together as tightly as possible. It was smooth with a completely even surface.

If the floor was that well constructed, he didn't have a chance of opening the door with anything save a very strong blasting spell. And, with no wand, that option certainly wasn't open to him. He sighed again as he worked his fingers over the cuffs, trying to find a weakness.

What made it worse was that he had no idea if he had been out for a few hours, or a few days. It wouldn't be hard to keep him unconscious after the first blow. But since he didn't feel nauseous or light headed they must have used a spell to keep him out. Merlin knew that being knocked unconscious wasn't something new to him.

He was sitting there, not doing anything in particular when a muffled sound reached his ears. He didn't move for a moment and when it came again, much louder this time, he turned his head towards it. Once it came closer, Harry made it out to be a heavy thunking sound; it sounded like someone was wearing thick-soled shoes.

A clanking sound reached his ears a few moments later, as well as the sound of a key turning in a lock. He simply sat there, looking in the direction that the noise was coming from.

"Oh look, the brat is up."

Harry forced himself to remain calm as he recognised Bellatrix's voice and the malicious glee in it.

"Go wake Narcissa. She's been wanting to talk to him:

The sound of someone with heavy steps hurrying away could be heard. When the door closed, it was so softly that the only telltale sound that Harry heard was the scrape of metal against stone. He remained perfectly still, only breathing. Then the sound of shoes walking closer came, heels clicking dully against the stone. It sounded like Bellatrix was pacing in front of him.

"Look at the Boy-Who-Lived now." Bellatrix murmured in a mocking tone. "Bruised, bloodied, chained to a wall," she paused for a moment. "Beaten. Subdued."

Harry felt indignation flare up but he quelled it quickly. This was not the time to rise to Bellatrix's baiting.

"It was pitifully easy to track you once we found you. Those mudblood and blood traitor friends of yours were easy to follow. We knew it would only be a matter of time before they led us to you."

Harry didn't say anything for a long moment. "What is it with Death Eaters and gloating? Don't you think your sister might be mad that you're not letting her do that?"

Nothing came in reply but Harry could feel the outrage emanating of Bellatrix. After a moment, there were rapid steps and then a hand connecting painfully with his face. His head cracked back against the wall, and he could feel her fingernails digging into his cheek as Bellatrix's hand jerked away. It hurt worse as the air got to the fresh gouges, burning like someone had stuck barely live embers on his face.

"Silence!" Bellatrix spat. "Don't you dare presume to know my Mistress' mind, you worthless halfblood!"

Harry didn't speak for a moment, before he managed a sneer. "So, I'm right?"

He never finished the sentence as a shoe sank into his stomach. He doubled over as he gasped for breath. Bellatrix made a small satisfied sound then kicked him a few more times. When she finally stopped, Harry was curled into a ball, arms wrapped around his stomach, as if it would ease the pain.

"On your feet," Bellatrix snapped. "Our Mistress wishes to see you."

Harry felt the restraints fall away from his wrists and ankles, but he simply stayed there, curled into a ball. Bellatrix gave an exasperated snarl and dug her heel into his back.

"Move! Now!" she ordered.

Harry felt it was a much better idea to simply lie on the ground and get his breath back. After all, he couldn't talk properly if he didn't have a fully functioning diaphragm to make his lungs work. Bellatrix tried digging her heel into a few different spots, all earning no reaction. She swore darkly to herself before she hauled Harry to his feet roughly.

"Walk!" she snarled, shoving him forward.

Harry stumbled, arms stretching out to make sure he didn't' bump into anything. He took small steps forward and Bellatrix seemed more than happy to shove him along. He fell a lot, tripping over some rug on the floor or losing balance after colliding with some object in his way. The stairs were the worst. Bellatrix made him walk up three flights, pushing and making him fall almost every three steps. By the time he reached the sixth landing, Harry was amazed that he still had all his teeth intact. He'd knocked his mouth more times than he would have liked to remember and figured all his teeth were on the verge of falling out.

"In here," Bellatrix said as she grabbed his arm and dragged him forward. "Our Mistress will see you now."

And with that, Harry felt himself shoved roughly into a room and the door slammed shut. His feet connected with the lip of a carpet and he fell, sprawling to the floor. A soft mocking laugh reached his ears as he picked himself up, resting on his knees.

"My, my, this is my competition."

Harry rose to his feet, facing the direction Narcissa's voice was coming from. Parts of his body were already throbbing with a dull ache that he knew he would feel later. But he'd be damned if he appeared anything less than proud in front of this woman. After all, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, and Harry had pretty much stolen her husband away from her.

"Still trying to keep your pride?" the derision in her voice was evident. "If you knew how you looked you'd realise just how useless that is."

"Maybe some of us don't base pride on looks," Harry said evenly. "Or blood."

Silence came for a moment and he knew she was evaluating at him. All the hairs on the back of his neck had risen, screaming of danger in a primitive way.

"Can you see him Lucius?" Narcissa asked softly. "Or perhaps you need a better vantage point."

Harry felt his heart still as a grunt came from somewhere in the room. He had to bite on his tongue hard to stop himself from saying anything. What was Lucius doing here? What had Narcissa done to him? Grunting was not Lucius' way of answering a question. He managed to say nothing as rustling and shifting sounds came now.

"Much better, don't you agree?" Narcissa said finally. "I certainly wouldn't want you to miss the show, dear husband."

Harry felt his gut twist, wishing he could see. Narcissa didn't say anything for a long moment before she said one word.

"Crucio."

Suddenly it felt as if someone had poured in white hot liquid metal into his bones. He fell to the floor, writing, biting his lip to keep from crying out. His mouth was flooded with the coppery salty tang of blood when the pain let up. His body relaxed in grateful relief and he sagged against the floor.

"You," Narcissa said in a nasty voice. "Are an immense pain, did you know that?"

"I… try." Harry gasped, feeling completely rebellious.

Narcissa snorted in scorn. "My dear cousin Sirius was also a pain. I wouldn't be in this hellhole on the coast if it weren't for his wretched will."

"Not my problem." Harry managed.

"Oh, but it is," Narcissa sounded immensely happy. "I used to hold Grimmauld Place in trust for you. And you unfortunately lived to see your seventeenth birthday. But there's a year grace period, as required by law. If you somehow don't live to see your eighteenth birthday, all Black property and possessions become mine by default. Seeing as I'm the only Black with legitimate claim. Should my husband not survive, well, I'm sure I can wrest something from Draco."

A strange sound reached his ears now. It sounded like Lucius was trying to laugh but just couldn't. Harry didn't say anything for a moment. She was going to play with them before she killed them. If he didn't make it amusing for her somehow, she just might kill him right away.

"Oh, don't think too hard," Narcissa said. "I have plenty of time before your friends come charging to the rescue. Even though you've been out for almost the entire week, I intend to make up for lost time. Lucius was amusing for only a short amount of time. He refuses to scream."

Harry's stomach lurched sharply, unable to stop his imagination from running away with him. What had she done to Lucius? He may be blind, but he was pretty sure that would be a small obstacle in attempting to get someone. He was positive that the authorities might look the other way if he wrung her neck until it broke. Or he could always claim self-defence.

He staggered back to his feet and Narcissa made a delighted sound.

"I'm so glad you have that much energy and resolve. It'll make breaking you that much more enjoyable."

Harry didn't even have time to fully hear her words before he was back on the floor, writhing from another Crucio.

* * *

If there was one thing that Lucius couldn't stand, it was being absolutely powerless. Narcissa had wasted no time when she had them brought to this place. Harry was thrown into some dungeon cell. She'd spent the past four days utterly destroying any sort of response he could muster up. He didn't have much left after the prolonged three day Crucio session she had put him through. She would heal him just enough to correct any damage wrought and find some new way of inflicting damage to him along with the Crucio. She'd mentioned something about castration, but he had no doubt she was saving that until the very end. I would probably be her piéce de resistance. 

And now that she was done with his body, she decided to attack his mind while getting in as much torture as she could with Harry.

He didn't want to be lying on the bed, alert enough to not pass out but too drained to be able to move. It was all playing in front of him like a multiple splinching accident that he couldn't look away from. Harry's body would contort on the floor while ragged gasps and whimpers would come from his throat and Narcissa would pause every so often and do something else, such as using a slashing hex or a popping jinx.

He didn't like hearing the sound of joints being popped out and then back in. and seeing the number of cuts on Harry's body growing, steadily staining his clothes a dark red

If there was ever a time he hated Narcissa it was now and he relished the thought of killing her slowly rather than just excising her from his life with a quick avada kedavra. He glared when Narcissa paused and left Harry curled up on the floor to look at him.

"You don't look like you're enjoying yourself Lucius." Narcissa said reproachfully before she spat out, "Your true little harlot is certainly much more amusing that Snape would –"

That was all Narcissa managed to say as, somehow, Harry rose and barrelled into her, wand flying from her hand. They both fell to the floor and Harry made a pained sound. Narcissa was still with shock for a moment before she was beating at Harry with her hands, squirming onto her belly and trying to reach the wand. Harry gave an angry growl, clambering over Narcissa, seeing as best he could with his hands.

Lucius could only watch as the mad scrabble on the floor played out before him. Narcissa was trying to crawl to her wand as fast as she could. Harry stayed on her back, trying desperately to roll her over. She had almost reached her wand, when Harry grasped her shoulders and wrenched at them with all his weight. There came a sickening tearing sound from one of Narcissa's shoulder and then she was scrabbling with one to reach the wand, but was on her back and it was just out of reach.

Harry's hands wasted no time, jumping up to Narcissa's neck and grasping tightly. A wild sort of panic came to her eyes and she beat frantically at Harry's hands, while the hand closest attempted to grasp the wand.

"Did you enjoy that?" Harry hissed as he tightened his grip. "Did you get your jollies watching me squirm and writhe in pain, you bitch?"

Narcissa made a gasping croak of a sound and her eyes starting to bulge a bit while her face went blue. Her hands started smacking at Harry's face now, leaving welts from where her fingernails scratched. Lucius watched as she gave a great choked gasping sound, shuddered and then went perfectly still under Harry's hands.

Harry's grip loosened and he snatched his hands back as if he was burned. He managed to get to his feet, body shaking a bit as he staggered about.

"Lucius?" he called hoarsely. "Where are you? Say something so I can find you!"

Harry still couldn't see? And yet he managed to strangle the life from Narcissa. Something didn't strike him as right about that and he opened his mouth, a hoarse croaking sound coming from it. Harry froze and turned slowly, making his way over to the bed. Harry felt along the sheet, cringing when his fingers felt what was a dry spot of blood. When Harry's foot touched his ankle, Harry scrambled forward onto the bed, hands fluttering up Lucius' body.

"Merlin, are you all right? Say something, please."

Lucius shook his head once. Harry gave a sob of anguished relief.

"But you're alive and that's all that matters. God, I killed her Lucius. Draco's going to hate me."

Somehow Lucius doubted that very much. He took a deep breath, pain stabbing him in the sides. That was when he noticed Narcissa quietly getting up from the floor. His eyes widened slightly before he looked at Harry. Harry was running his hands over Lucius' face, looking worried. He gave the quickest warning he could think of. He shook his head from side to side as fast as he could, muscles screaming in pain, hoping Harry got the idea.

Harry's brow furrowed in puzzlement and then Narcissa was at the side of the bed. She fisted both her hands together and brought them down hard on Harry's head. Harry collapsed against him with a pained groan.

"Did you think you'd be rid of me that easily, you little slut?" Narcissa looked livid as she flipped Harry over and wrapped her hands around his throat. "I'll make sure you're good and dead now, rather than having my fun with you."

Lucius struggled to sit up but Narcissa cast a sharp look at him and removed her good hand from Harry's neck long enough to cast a full body bind on him. That other shoulder must have been aching from the exertion that she was putting it under, but Narcissa probably saw it as necessary, if she noticed it at all.

"Look Lucius," Narcissa grunted as Harry clawed at any skin he could find. "You'll get to watch as I strangle the life from him."

Bile started to bubble up at the back of his throat and he could only glare at her. That blasted contract he had to sign that dampened his magic was what prevented him from actually being capable of averting something like this. Harry was gaping like a fish now, his face turning a bright shade of red. There was a sharp crackle of magic in the room and suddenly Narcissa was thrown from Harry, skidding across the floor. Harry rolled onto his side coughing.

Narcissa picked herself up, glaring at Harry as she hurried over to the bed and grabbed his legs. Harry slid off the bed with a loud thunk and he groaned, trying to pick himself up again. But he didn't quite make it and Narcissa had him half on the bed when she started strangling him again, nails digging into the soft skin.

"Enjoy his last moments," Narcissa breathed harshly as Harry started thrashing in desperation. "Because I will certainly kill you next, dear husband."

Right at that moment, the door was bashed in and Lucius tried to look from the corner of his eyes. But he couldn't see anything.

"Harry?" a strange voice called frantically.

Harry's face was a bit blue now and he thrashed harder, almost dislodging Narcissa. Narcissa was looking at the intruder, aiming her wand at them. One of her hands was still wrapped around Harry's throat but he could actually breathe a bit now; the bluish colour was disappearing and his face was going back to a red colour. Lucius could hear the great rattling breaths in between his coughs.

"I suggest you put your wand down and – "

"He went upstairs! Find him!"

Bellatrix's shrieks carried from up the stairs and Lucius wished he could see what was happening.

"Absoluto colloportus!"

"Avada kedavra!"

The sound of the door squelching shut and then a loud thunk sound came. Did Narcissa hit the person? She was still now, her head turning slowly as she watched the intruder.

"Commendable. You sealed off the room completely and ducked my curse. And your wand is all the way over there. Can you get it before it comes to me?"

There was a tense silence that Lucius guessed that Narcissa and the intruder were staring at one another. Harry was still stationary, but all his muscles were tense. He had a curiously blank expression on his face, as if he were thinking about something.

"Well," Narcissa said mockingly. "Isn't this where you see –"

Narcissa's words became an outraged shriek as Harry twisted his body, upending Narcissa from the bed and to sprawl on the floor. Then the sound of rushed feet came and Narcissa cursing.

"Avada kedavra!"

"Pilumae!"

The sound of the curse striking against the wall with a dull thud was followed by the sound of Narcissa hissing in pain. Obviously she did something reflective that gave the intruder the opportunity they needed.

"Petrificus totalus!"

Narcissa must have been standing since the sound of someone crashing to the floor sounded. The next thing Lucius knew, he could hear hurried steps and then Seamus Finnegan's face appeared, bending over Harry with concern. Why couldn't it have been someone else?

"God, are you all right?" Seamus asked as he helped Harry up.

Harry brushed him away weakly as he clutched at his throat. "Wand…"

"I don't know where your wand is." Seamus said, still looking concerned. "I'll find someway to get us out of here. Just rest here for a bit."

Seamus hurried over to the wall and pressed his ear against it, listening for something. Harry was looking around, disoriented, hands feeling across the bed again. When he touched Lucius' arm, he gave a gentle squeeze. The gesture would have been mildly touching had that not hurt like hell. Harry moved in closer to him, keeping a loose grasp on his arm.

Finally Seamus stepped back from the wall and aimed his wand at it. "Reducto!"

A sizeable chunk of the wall was blasted away and let in the cold salt air, showing the stormy looking sky. Seamus leaned out a bit, the wind whipping up his robes. He aimed his wand upwards and bright pink stars went shooting up into the sky.

"There; someone from the search party should see that… hopefully." Seamus muttered before he turned around. "All right Harry…"

If Lucius were able to smirk, he would be at this point. Seamus seemed to have no words to the sight of Harry Potter curling up beside the battered and bruised Lucius Malfoy. It looked like he was having a hard time coming up with plausible reasons.

"Come on Harry," Seamus said anxiously as he hurried over to the bed and tried to take Harry's hands. "I'll look after you."

"No, you have to help him." Harry's voice was hoarse but steady.

"Harry," Seamus tried again. "You're not feeling well. Just come on. When the Aurors get here, they'll deal with him."

"I said no!" that would have been a yell if Harry's voice wasn't so rough. "If you won't help him, then I will."

Lucius didn't see anything for a moment but Seamus' shocked face. Harry pulled away from him sitting up, body shaking now as the full effects of Crucio and damage started to sink in more fully. He left from his line of sight and, for all guesses, attempted to stand; attempted because there was only a second before the sound of a body hitting the floor came.

"Harry!" Seamus sounded panicked.

"Help him, help Lucius please…" Harry gasped out.

Nothing sounded for a moment and Lucius realised that Harry must have passed out. Then the sound of Seamus picking Harry up came. The bed sank beside him and he assumed Harry was placed there.

"I can't believe I'm actually doing this," Seamus muttered. "Finite incantantum."

Lucius took another deep breath as the full body bind was released. He struggled to sit up again, but between the pain in his muscles and the shaking he simply collapsed back against the bed, breathing hard. Apparently Seamus took pity on him since he muttered something and the pain subsided away to a bearable ache.

He sat up slowly, his side not hurting as much. He didn't look at Harry however. Seamus was glaring at him with wand pointed right at his heart.

"You're better not try anything funny Malfoy." Seamus said in a flat tone. "I'll be watching you carefully."

Lucius managed a sneer and rose unsteadily from the bed. He had to pause at a post for a moment until he felt steadier. He could feel Seamus' eyes on him as he slowly crossed the room and came to a rest in front of the small dresser. The top drawer had a lock, but Lucius thought he would try it anyway. When the drawer refused to come out, he turned to Seamus.

"You. Open this."

Seamus spluttered in outrage for a moment. "Like hell I am!" he replied furiously.

"And you don't want Harry to get his wand back?" that his own wand was in there as well, that was something Seamus didn't need to know.

"No," Seamus said after a moment. "That can wait for when the Aurors get here."

The bloody annoying boy was using his head; so much for foolish Gryffindors that didn't think clearly. Lucius made his way back to the bed slowly, sitting down and then stretching out with a wince. He would definitely be feeling this for a long while.

"And just how long will it take for the Aurors to arrive?" Lucius asked acidly.

Seamus shrugged, his wand still trained on Lucius. They didn't speak any more after that. The farthest Seamus went was back to the hole that he blasted in the wall and send up another stream of pink stars. A few minutes later, ominous shudders came from the sealed door. Lucius looked over at it, wishing he had his wand. Harry stirred uneasily a bit before he remained motionless. Seamus looked at him anxiously before he turned his attention back to the door with a grim expression.

A few more shudders came and then the door imploded on itself leaving only a doorframe in the way. Seamus looked relieved and aimed his wand back at Lucius. When Lucius caught sight of bright neon yellow and orange hair, he sighed in relief.

"God, could that door have been sealed any tighter?" Tonks voice was even more relieving when she noticed where he was and where Seamus had his wand aimed. "What are you doing here!" she sounded a bit shrill. "For Merlin's sake, aim your wand away from him!"

"What!" Seamus looked floored. "But it's –"

"I said aim away!" Tonks snarled. "God, are you trying to get me in trouble! You fire one spell at him and you could be charged with assault! I'll have enough to deal with what with the kidnapping and Healers Sargad and Hansberry, let alone that! Merlin, they'll flay me alive when they see Lucius like this! And you weren't even part of the search party! What were you thinking, coming to rescue Harry on your own, you idiot! You could have been killed! Do you know how bad that would have made the Ministry look? Use your head!"

It sounded like Tonks was just getting started on reaming out Seamus for his actions. More figures came into the room behind Tonks. Lucius only recognised Okolo, The other three, one man and two women were new to him. One woman and the man were looking over Narcissa's petrified body. And the other woman cast a floating charm on Harry's body and was levitating him from the room. Okolo was standing beside him with a frown on her face.

"You are a definite pain in the ass." She pronounced before motioning for him to get up.

Lucius did so feeling unsteady again, but she had draped his arm over her shoulder and was helping him along.

"Really," Seamus protested. "I knew what I was –"

"Don't even say that!" Tonks cut him off in an angry voice. "Even Ronald Weasley has better sense than to do something like this! And he's not even _in_ Auror academy yet, unlike you! You're in some serious trouble Mr. Finnegan. Now stay put and don't touch anything else! Don't even say anything! Just silence!"

Lucius glanced back and was treated to the sight of Seamus sitting down meekly on the bed while Tonks glowered darkly at him for a moment before turning to speak to the man and the woman by Narcissa's body.

"Eyes forward," Okolo said in irritation. "I don't want you dragging me down those stairs with you if you're too stupid to pay attention."

"It would be a small price to pay." Lucius said as he took the stairs slowly; while the pain was lessened, it didn't stop it from hurting with each step.

Okolo snorted. "Only you would say that."

* * *


	36. Chapter 35

_**Come the Maëlstrom**_

_Chapter Thirty Five_

St. Mungo's certainly was different from when he had done a year study here. The décor had vastly improved and was more spacious. And it still had that damned annoying pine antiseptic smell to it. It wasn't Severus' choice to come here. After passing along the information to Percy, Albus had suggested they go out and do a bit more canvassing, in the narrowed down area. Of course Albus, being his usual self, had tried to get Ron to go along with him. The pretext was that they had such speedy results so soon after Harry's kidnapping; surely it would work again.

So Severus had gone looking alone and had made the same progress as the search party had for most of the week. He'd come back to Hogwarts tonight, looking for Hermione and he had found her in the infirmary, talking to Weasley, with that blasted boy sitting on his lap and arms wrapped around the redhead's neck. They had looked at him expectantly. Severus didn't even have a chance to get a word out before Albus had come in and pronounced that Harry had been found and was at St. Mungo's.

Before he could say anything, Hermione had grabbed his hands and forcibly dragged him after her. She'd squeezed into the fireplace beside him and then he was stumbling out into St. Mungo's foyer, beating Floo powder from his robes and trying to not have a coughing fit. They had found the waiting area outside the main foyer for visitors. Severus found himself wishing the waiting area was not so far away from the cafeteria. Weasley had made the first coffee run, walking off with the boy holding on tightly to his hand. Going for another cup seemed like a very good idea right now.

Ron was now slouched in a chair, doozing with the boy curled up against him. Hermione was pacing back and forth, stopping to look around every so often. Severus was doing his best to make himself comfortable in the monstrosities that they called chairs; they were lumpy and fraying in parts. Madame Pomfrey had also come along, if only to see what she could do and to set up a proper full check up for the boy Ron had taken in.

They had been there for almost an hour, and no one had come out to see them about Potter. Whatever had happened, Severus thought, must have been serious if the Healers were taking so long.

Hermione finally stopped pacing and sat down beside Severus. He slid a glance towards her and watched as she squirmed, attempting to get comfortable. After a bit, she stood, made an exasperated sound and pulled out her wand.

"I wouldn't recommend that." Severus murmured almost lazily.

"What?" Hermione looked at him. "Why?"

"After a few heated fights here, St. Mungo's had adopted a no spell policy for guests," Severus inclined his head towards a sign that sat directly across from them. "It is enforced policy."

Hermione stared at it for a moment before she took off her robe, folded it into a square, placed it on the chair and then plunked down on it with a scowl. "It's a stupid policy."

He didn't say anything for a moment, watching Weasley snort loudly in his sleep. "For some people perhaps, but there are a rather large number of dunderheads out there that are stopped from spreading their idiocy because of it."

Hermione opted to huff and change the topic. "Why's it taking so long?" she griped as she rose and started pacing again. "This is absolutely ridiculous!"

"I'd have to agree."

Severus glanced down the hall to find a bright yellow and orange haired Tonks walking up to them. She gave them all a tired smile and a wave. Hermione looked at Tonks in relief.

"Well, you'd have some idea of what's taking them so long, right?"

Tonks rubbed at the back of her neck a bit nervously. "Yeah, but I –"

"Ron!"

Severus bit back an exasperated comment. He looked past Tonks to see one of the Patil twins running towards them. Parvati, if the student gossip mill was to be trusted. Ron woke with a start and looked around in confusion, almost upending the boy from his lap. He looked up at Tonks in surprise but when Parvati came to an abrupt stop in front of him, he looked at her in shock.

"Parv?" he shifted the boy from his lap to the chair and rose, looking at her in confusion. "What are you –"

Parvati simply ran forward and hugged Ron tightly before kissing him. Ron looked floundered for a moment before he kissed her back. Severus rolled his eyes when it became apparent that they didn't seem intent on breaking apart after a few minutes. Tonks was snickering and Hermione watched them almost indulgently for a bit before she walked up and forcibly separated them.

"Yes, it's nice to see you again as well." She said crisply.

Ron and Parvati looked at Hermione in surprise. The boy made a small sound and bolted to Ron's side, and clung tightly to his waist. Parvati looked at the boy in surprise and then at Ron.

"It's a long story." He said, rubbing the back of his head. "How did you know I was here?"

"Your mum told me; Dumbledore told her that you were here." Parvati looked around at them all. "What's going on?"

Severus had stood up and waited for all the babble to die down. "That's what we were about to find out before you interrupted Miss Patil." He said in a withering tone.

Parvati looked in his direction like she'd been stung. Severus resisted the urge to sneer and then turned back to Tonks to ask her to continue. At that moment the pair of doors swung open and a healer came out, looking between them all. When her eyes settled on the boy, she smiled and crouched down.

"Hi, I'm Rowan. I'm supposed to give you a check up."

The boy looked at the Healer and then at Ron. Ron bent down, resting his hands on the boy's shoulders.

"Don't worry Sterling. She just wants to make sure there's nothing wrong with you. And then she'll bring you right back. You don't have to worry about anything. I'll be here when you get back." Ron said.

Severus watched as the boy nodded his head and slowly walked over to the healer. She offered her hand but it was looked at and promptly dismissed. The healer looked surprised and the shrugged, walking in through the doors. The boy cast one more look at Ron before going in after her.

"Sterling?" Severus finally said.

Ron's face flushed a bit. "That's what he says his name is."

"Okay, look," Tonks said. "Do you guys want to know or not? I can't exactly stay here much longer. I was just sent to see how Harry and Lucius are doing. Somehow the press has gotten wind of this."

"Oh Merlin," Ron groaned.

Severus snorted. "Someone sniffing where they shouldn't be?"

"That's putting it mildly," Tonks said grimly. "Percy's working on getting an injunction against anything in regard to this matter being printed, but he wants to have something to tell them."

"So where did you find them?" Hermione asked.

Severus didn't move as she moved in closer to him. Thankfully Weasley was too wrapped up in what Tonks was saying and Parvati to notice.

"An old wizarding manse in Dover," Tonks said. "There were six Death Eaters; the Lestranges, Augustus Rookwood, Walden MacNair, Narcissa Malfoy and Peter Pettigrew."

"Pettigrew!" Ron asked sharply.

"Yes Pettigrew. And we sent them to Ministry interrogation cells under very heavy guard. So far as I know, Kingsley is conducting the interrogations with Veritaserum, so the complete truth will come out."

Hermione gave a faint sigh of relief. Severus didn't know what she could possibly be so relieved about.

"And Potter's injuries?" he asked brusquely.

"It's not good," Tonks said. "Extensive damage from the Cruciatus curse, not to mention some badly wrenched joints, a good number of deep cuts and it looks like Narcissa attempted to strangle him to death with her bare hands. Lucius was five times worse off. Harry only suffered it for about an hour or more. Lucius went through it for days."

Hermione gave a small gasp and recoiled back against Severus before she spoke. "Will he be all right?"

"I don't know," Tonks said after a moment looking at Hermione and Severus for a moment. "Er, I think you'd better tell Ron too. Seamus has figured it out but I don't know what he'll do. I'll try to contain it as long as I can, but I think it's out the bag now."

"It?" Hermione echoed.

"What you walked in on?" she raised an eyebrow at Hermione.

Severus looked over at Weasley to see confusion now as Hermione nodded her head. Wonderful, it was a good thing that they were in St. Mungo's and sedatives were close on hand.

"Okay, I really have to go see them now and then hurry back to the Ministry. I'll see you all as soon as I can and let you know all right?"

Tonks gave them a quick apologetic smile before she disappeared through the double doors. Severus could see Hermione wringing her hands a bit as she looked at Ron. Ron was looking at her curiously.

"'Mione," he finally asked. "What was Tonks talking about that you two have to tell me about?"

Ron gave Severus a hard look. Severus replied back with a glare and scowl. If there was one thing to relish about this, it would be the pure shock on Weasley's face.

"Why don't you have a seat?" Hermione said.

Ron didn't say anything for a moment. "That never means anything good when you tell me that."

"Ron, just sit down hun," Parvati said. "It sounds like it might be a good idea. Don't want you to faint and hit the floor."

Ron sat down on the chair gingerly, Parvati sitting in the one beside him. Severus' scowl turned into a grimly amused smile, when he saw the way Weasley was holding Patil's hand.

"All right, I'm sitting down." Ron said slowly. "What is it?"

Severus didn't do anything beyond shrugging lightly when Hermione looked at him. Ron's face darkened a bit more.

"What do you and Snape know that I don't?" he demanded.

"Well, we discovered it quite by accident. Needless to say –"

"Hermione, I don't want a bloody explanation," Ron said as he rubbed his temples. "Just tell me, would you?"

Severus watched as Hermione took a deep breath, steeling herself.

"All right," she said. "Here it is: Harry and Lucius are in a relationship."

Ron looked at her, blinked and then broke out laughing. "Yeah, good one 'Mione. Now c'mon, what is it really?"

Severus noted the anxious expression on Patil's face. "She just told you. Potter and Lucius are involved with each other, in an… intimate relationship." He said flatly.

Ron stared at him, the laughter dying from his eyes to be replaced by pure shock. He opened and closed his mouth in rapidly before his face flushed red and he shot up from his seat and started pacing back and forth quickly.

"Whaddya mean Harry's seeing –"

"Shhh!" Parvati said, rising as well. "No one's supposed to know!"

"You knew too!" Ron looked at her incredulously.

"No, but Tonks said she would try and contain it; there is some degree of privacy still expected… I guess." She explained.

Hermione nodded her head in agreement. "You're one of a few people who know."

"What the… I just… how could he!" Ron bellowed. "I'm his best friend and he keeps something like this from me!"

Severus frowned. "Perhaps Potter knew you would react in such a manner. And as to that manner, I suggest that you keep your voice down."

"Or what, huh?" Ron demanded angrily. "And I guess you both have known how about this for a long time too! How long has this has been going on for!"

"My guess is a year or so," Hermione said. "But we have to keep this quiet as –"

"A year!" Ron's face was mottled various shades of red now. "Keep it quiet! Are you kidding me! This is just beyond… I don't know what exactly but it's just… argh!"

Severus could see heads appearing from doorways now, trying to see what was causing the ruckus. Hermione and Patil were both trying unsuccessfully to calm him down and invariably saying the wrong thing in their anxious state. There was probably one way to silence Ron quickly before he ruined everything. He scowled and headed down the corridor. He returned a few minutes later with a young orderly following him. Severus cleared his throat.

"Weasley!" he barked loudly.

"What!" Ron roared, whirling around to face him.

Severus remained unruffled. "Unless you wish to be subdued by orderlies, I suggest you calm down."

Ron gave him a fearsome scowl, not that it had any impact. "Why don't you just bugger off?"

"Ron, now really," Hermione began. "You don't have to get rude. Severus is just as concerned for Harry as we are."

Severus took a deep breath to steel his patience as Ron goggled at Hermione. Hermione had clapped her hands over her mouth, eyes screwed shut in what he could only surmise to be a mental rebuking.

"You're on a first name basis with the greasy git?" Ron demanded in a tight voice

"Yes, I am," Hermione replied as she dropped her hands. "And it would be nice if you didn't call him a greasy git."

"Toadstools don't change their spots," Ron spat angrily. "Just how the hell did you end up on a first name basis with Snape?"

Hermione face flushed and she glanced at Severus. Severus, who had elected to remain silent and in the background, met her gaze and then looked at Ron; for once in his life, Severus had the inkling that Ron actually deserved some credit; the boy took in the look exchanged between him and Hermione and then he paled. Hermione was looking at Ron with trepidation, nervousness evident in her entire body.

Hermione's face flushed and she glanced over at Severus. Severus met her gaze before glancing over at Ron. Severus had the inkling that Ron might actually understand what was going on as he paled. Severus nodded to the orderly.

"Hermione…" Ron began weakly.

"Do you really want to finish that sentence?" Snape asked scathingly. "Your brain might explode if it fully puts the pieces together."

Ron pointed weakly at her and then tried to point to Severus, while making some weak whimpering noises. Before he could say anything the orderly quickly sedated him and he keeled over.

Ron was taken in through the swinging doors Parvati alongside answering the Healer's questions on any reactions he might have had to the sedative. Severus made a noise of scorn in the back of his throat and looked at Hermione. Hermione however was looking at him, aghast.

"Severus!" she finally exclaimed. "Why did you do that!"

"Better than allowing him to start frothing at the mouth once again." Severus said as he settled himself down in a seat.

"But really, you could have given him a chance!" Hermione ran a hand through her hair. "Merlin, the shock alone…"

"Weasley is disgustingly resilient," Severus replied dryly. "I'm quite sure he'll be fine."

Hermione's face darkened. "Severus Snape," she hissed as she walked up to him. "We are going to have a good talk about what is appropriate and inappropriate as to how to calm people down! Having orderlies sedate them is not included under appropriate!"

"What a shame, it worked so well." He replied with a sneer in his voice.

"Honestly, you are the most horribly incorrigible bastard I've ever know!" Hermione threw her hands up in exasperation. "There are times I think you don't have a compassionate bone in your body! But then you go and do something that just proves me wrong."

"Yes, I'm all pink hearts, fluffy bunnies and overall caring." He snorted derisively.

Hermione stared at him before she snorted and turned away from him quickly. "We're still having that talk you know."

"I expect no less," he replied; he had a sneaking suspicion that she was smiling. "Would you have the decency to face me when we are talking?"

"You can still watch my back for a bit longer. Funny as your comment was, I'm still put out with you." she finally said.

"Then you shouldn't be smiling." He finally said, noting how her cheeks had plumped.

She said nothing for a moment. "I hate you."

"Such flattering words you speak." He said dryly.

Hermione finally turned around and faced him. Then she came and sat down in the seat beside him and crossed her arms, trying to still look mad. He simply watched her for a moment. She uncrossed her arms with a defeated sigh and shifted, resting her head on his shoulder.

"The talk can wait until later. I just want to know that Harry's all right."

Severus closed his eyes for a moment before he reached over and took one of her hands. She didn't look up at him but she gave his hand a small squeeze. It looked like it would be a long night for the both of them.

* * *

"Oi! Severus! Wakey wakey!"

The words were followed with a pat to the face. His eyes snapped open, making the person jump back in surprise. This time it was dark indigo hair that greeted him, as well as Tonks' startled expression. He looked around, realising he was still in the visitor lounge area. Weasley was sitting over in a seat, staring at his knees and looking pensive. Patil was dozing and Sterling was sitting on her lap, playing with her fingers. Albus was there as well now, munching on something that looked suspiciously like lemon drops. He started to move but found a weight against him. He looked over and found Hermione's dozing form. He shifted her weight, making sure she was rested evenly against the chair. She stirred a bit and then fell back into sleep. He looked up at Tonks to find her looking at him expectantly.

"What is it?" he asked curtly.

"The Healer says Harry can have two visitors and two visitors only. I asked Ron but he says he doesn't want to see Harry yet. Dumbledore's going and I thought you might like to."

"And the time?"

"Just afternoon," Tonks said cheerfully. "The cafeteria is having steak and kidney pie for lunch if you're hungry."

Severus shook his head irritably and rose, stretching the kinks out. He felt a slight twinge from his lower back. That's what he got for staying up half the night and then falling asleep in these damned chairs. Tonks watched him for a moment before she motioned to Dumbledore to follow after her. It didn't take Severus long to realise that they were heading towards the critical care unit. Apprehension grew as they approached the section painted blue. That was the ward for the most critical, usually fatal, of injuries; just how bad could Potter's injuries have been? The apprehension quickly vanished as they turned off into a smaller room just before the blue section. There were only two occupants in the sunny room. Lucius was fast asleep, his chest moving in a steady rhythm.

Potter, on the other hand, was awake and looking out the window that his bed was by. He didn't look at them when they stepped in the room.

"Healer Sargad says you've both got about twenty minutes," Tonks murmured. "And don't stay longer or she'll have your hides."

Severus didn't say anything as Tonks slipped from the room, shutting the door quietly behind her. Albus walked over and settled himself down in the chair by Potter's bed. Moving quietly, Severus contented himself to look out the window. It looked out onto a park where two parents and two children were playing, along with their dog. Besides, if he sat in a chair his back might protest again. He could just listen to whatever Albus and Potter discussed.

"Harry, it's wonderful to see you looking well." Albus said in a happy voice.

"I've been better." Harry replied after a moment. His tone was quite flat. "Broken ribs aren't fun. They heal those slowly. Don't want anything growing too fast and poking into a lung. It's barely worse than drinking Skele-Gro. Though Healer Sargad says I'm lucky I don't have much more extensive nerve damage. Between the blood loss, oxygen deprivation and severe nerve damage, I've lost some feeling in my right arm, especially my hand. Apparently adrenaline was the only thing that stopped Narcissa from actually being able to strangle me to death without much resistance."

Severus glanced over and could see angry purple black bruises on his neck with what looked like gouge marks on his neck and left cheek.

"My dear boy," Albus began a bit sadly. "This could have been avoided."

Harry remained silent for a long moment. "Blood magic only protected me from Voldemort."

Severus glanced at Albus to find him looking sadder at Potter's implication. So, Albus did know and did nothing about it.

"Harry, it was the best place for you. It kept you safe and –"

"Then you've got a weird definition of safe." Harry bit out. "Want to tell me what it is? I'd sure like to know."

Albus didn't say anything for a long moment. "I'll admit your relatives are a bit adverse to magic –"

Harry gave a sharp bark of laughter that broke off into a hiss as he clutched at his sides. It took him a few moments before he relaxed and sank back into the pillows.

"You're using the word very loosely," Harry said, still looking out the window.

"– but it was what was available at the time." Albus finished after a moment.

"And nothing else came up later on?" Harry asked, shifting a bit, so he was sitting a bit more upright.

Now it was Albus' turn to not say anything for a moment. "There were opportunities that seemed ideal at the time but weren't right."

"Or weren't safe?"

"There was that factor. Harry, I only had your best interests at heart."

"Uh huh, I'll bet," Harry snorted. "So, let me see if I've got this right. You figured the best place for a wizard to grow up was in the household of an extremely magiphobic Muggle family and leave him there for eleven years. Then you invite him to a magical school, assuming he would know that he was a wizard and said magiphobic relatives would have told him and actually let him go willingly. Oh, and let's not forget the little thing of training him to be a stealthy murderer. Merlin knows the crash course in Apparation was even more useful to that end."

This had to be the first time Severus had ever seen Albus thoroughly discomforted.

"You aren't a murderer Harry." Albus finally said.

"Oh, I'm not? Then tell me, what was it that I did to Voldemort? Just walked up to him and politely asked him to die?"

Albus had nothing to say and Harry gave a disgusted sound.

"You can dress it up any way you want. But when you still look at it, it's murder; cold blooded, premeditated murder. You had me murder for you."

"It was prophesied that one of you would die. I only wanted to make sure that you lived."

"No, I think I was supposed to die as well," Harry finally said. "And between the loving home you put me in, and everything else everyone else expected me to deal with, I was well on my way to taking care of that."

"Harry –" Albus began.

"You know why I was becoming so introverted?" Harry said almost rhetorically. "There was a reason."

Albus sighed. "I would like to hear the reason."

"If I did survive the final battle with Voldemort, I was planning on using avada kedavra on myself."

Severus looked over sharply at Potter, seeing him still looking out the window. But that face was cold, jaw set resolutely.

"Between killing him and dealing with everything everyone wanted me to do, killing myself seemed like the easier thing to deal with. Just aim my wand at myself and watch my green death come towards me. I thought it would be easier on everyone if I was being distant for a good while before."

"It would be nice if you could tell me what changed your mind." Albus said.

Harry turned his head slowly to watch Albus. "That is my own business. Not yours."

Albus was looking intently at Harry. Severus watched them regard one another for a few minutes; surely Albus wasn't attempting to use Legilimancy on Potter. But sure enough, a minute later, Albus broke off the gaze and Harry had an angry scowl on his face.

"Did you think I really meant take a look through my mind? Not that you got anywhere there." Harry said acidly. "Don't you think it's a bit late to be offering explanations and apologies?"

Albus sighed and turned to look at Lucius' still sleeping body. Harry's eyes narrowed. There was a momentary flicker of magic in the air and next thing Severus knew Albus' head was dragged back by an invisible force.

"Don't even try it. You've got a funny set of scruples. Does it not count if the person's asleep and thinks they're dreaming?" Harry glowered at Albus. "He defended me when the Death Eaters attacked and I won't let you go picking through his mind."

Severus looked at Albus in slight consternation. How very glad he was to be a superb Occlumens. Albus didn't say anything else. Harry snorted and looked back out the window. "I'm done talking to you."

Albus rose and made his way to the door, slipping out quietly. Severus continued looking out the window for a bit longer before he spoke.

"You should know that Tonks is certain that Finnegan has figured out about you and Lucius somehow."

"Damn it," Harry cursed. "Once he showed up and petrified Narcissa, I can barely remember anything. Everything before that was so clear."

"Obviously a result of the adrenaline," Severus said.

"Obviously," Harry said. "I was really hoping Draco would be here."

"For a particular reason?"

"Yeah, so I can yell at the idiot!" Harry exclaimed. "Honestly, who invites in a sixteen year old stranger in to someone else's house when they're there at one in the morning? Really! Tell me who? Besides that big idiot that Lucius calls his son."

Severus watched as Harry huffed, looking out the window as he shook his head.

"But that was the one flaw in my wards. I had them set so I had to give someone permission to enter my flat. But apparently the same extended for anyone I had invited to my flat. They just had to invite some, and in they could come."

"And you'll be resetting them?"

"You'd better believe it." Harry said. "I can't wait to get out of here." He paused for a bit. "Lucius is going to be in here for three more weeks."

"I daresay he'll be pleased to have spent a month in here, and a week of that asleep."

"Well, Healer Sargad said he would heal faster if he was asleep," Harry smiled. "I think she was angry at him for getting so beat up again. Apparently this isn't the first time that he's landed in here because of a woman."

"I have no doubt," Severus replied. "And you are to leave when?"

"Six more days. The ribs are going to take three more days to grow properly, then they keep me for forty eight hour observation." Harry didn't say anything for a moment. "Apparently my ribs were on the verge of splintering and causing even more problems. So they vanished them and put in magical channels for the bone to follow as it regrows. It feels weird as hell."

"Ribs are much easier to deal with. The spinal column and skull pose even greater complications."

Harry closed his eyes. "I don't even want to think about that. But I think I'm going to try and get some sleep. I barely got any last night."

Severus nodded his head and started to turn, stopping. "Weasley knows as well now."

Harry looked at him in surprise. "What? Ron? How?"

"Tonks advised us to tell him. I think she assumed it best that he hear it from friends rather than find it out from a newspaper. Which, might I add, is entirely possible now."

"Oi…" Harry took a slow, measured breath. "He must have blown his top."

Severus gave a sardonic smirk. "He did… and then Hermione let something slip."

"Something."

"She addressed me by my first name; Weasley picked up on that rather quickly in his agitated state."

"What happened?"

"I simply warned him against putting the pieces together, then had an orderly sedate him."

"You might as well have said, 'I'm dating Hermione'," Harry gave an amused snort. "She must have been thrilled with you."

"Apparently we're going to have a talk."

"Brave man. I'm glad I'm not you."

Severus simply looked at Harry for a moment before he walked to the door. He had opened it when Harry spoke again.

"Would you tell her and anyone else out there to see me to go home and rest? I'm not about to die now."

Severus gave a nod of his head and left the room. He found Tonks leaning against the wall, looking at him. He gave her a cursory nod and started down the hall back to the waiting area. She fell in step beside him.

"Man, what happened in there? Dumbledore just came out and he looked depressed!" Tonks exclaimed. "Dumbledore is _never_ depressed."

"That is a private matter between Potter and Albus. If you ask the may tell you something. Though that something will most likely be to mind your own business."

"Oh c'mon! Just one little thing."

"No." he said flatly.

"Please?"

"No."

"It's not going to kill you!"

"Is there something terribly difficult to understand about the word no?"

"No," Tonks said, falling silent for a moment. "Please?"

"No!" Severus bristled. "Go bother Valerian if you must bother someone."

"Can't; he's too busy. Apparently Lucius' parole is being re-examined in light of recent events and new information," Tonks grinned. "If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say he won't have parole anymore. It'll be completely revoked. He'll be a free man."

"Good, then I won't have to suffer stupid, pointless questions from you anymore."

Tonks didn't say anything for a moment. "So you really won't tell me anything?"

"No!"

* * *


	37. Chapter 36

_**Come the Maëlstrom**_

_Chapter Thirty Six_

Harry was glad to be back at his apartment. While Healer Sargad was professional and enjoyable, her assistants had driven him absolutely crazy with all their fawning. When he'd left, Healer Sargad had told him to keep in touch and let her know if he wasn't feeling well. Harry had promised to do so and found himself dismissed from the hospital and back in his apartment. He'd thought about going back to St. Mungo's to see how Lucius was doing, but realised just what might happen if he did. And if more people were starting to find out, it just might add fuel to the fire.

He knew he had to have a talk with Ron and Seamus, but it was not something he was looking forward to. Besides, he hadn't gone anywhere in the past four days; if anything, he could simply claim not feeling up to it. And given the past two weeks, there wasn't a person he knew that would argue with that.

When he had woken up today he tried to firecall Ron but Mrs. Weasley said that he was at Parvati's house. Harry couldn't be bothered to track him down; he could wait to talk to Ron. Calling Hermione probably wouldn't pan out; she was either arguing with Snape at the moment or doing something Gringotts related. And he didn't want to bother Lupin with any of this.

He was sitting on his couch with a bowl of ice cream, looking out the window and thinking to himself. Everything concerning Voldemort was pretty much finished and he wasn't all that sure of what to do now. The ice cream had melted a good bit when the sound of flames in the fireplace came. Harry looked up to see Valerian stepping out, dusting Floo powder from his robes and shaking it from a thick portfolio at his side. Harry set his bowl down on the couch and rose quickly.

"Hi Valerian, good to see you again." Harry smiled, offering his hand.

"Likewise," Valerian said in a rough voice. He coughed, clearing it. "I'm not intruding am I?" he shook Harry's hand.

"No, I was just eating some ice cream," Harry replied as he walked back to the couch and picked up the bowl in question. "So, what are you doing here?"

"Well, I'm here to present you with your inheritance. Officially as possible anyway. Merlin knows they dithered around with it enough at the Ministry."

"Inheritance?" Harry echoed, some of Narcissa's rant coming back to him. "The Black estates and property?"

"Correct," Valerian affirmed, looking around. "Do you have a table somewhere? It would be better than the couch. There are some things you will have to sign."

"Yeah, sure." Harry said.

He led Valerian to the table behind the screen. After pushing aside the pile of owls and magazines, he gestured to a chair across from him. Valerian placed the portfolio on the table as he took the offered seat. He undid the clasp and Harry's eyes widened as he saw the pile of parchment that bounced back up from its confines.

"I have to sign all of that?" he looked at Valerian in shock.

"There is a good amount to sign, but it's not every single piece of parchment here," Valerian chuckled. "Basically, this simply lists just what you are inheriting. When you sign, you'll be bound to the Black properties in perpetuity; you and your descendants."

Harry didn't say anything for a moment as he absorbed the implications. "Binds me to Black properties in perpetuity? What does that mean?"

"Well, you're now the only heir to the entire Black inheritance, it is necessary as you weren't born a Black by blood."

"So why hasn't this been done before?" Harry frowned.

"The Ministry requires a year's grace period, and so the papers are sent there for the full inheritance to be itemised; then they're kept in the ministry until the grace period is over. Usually someone has a contesting claim to an inheritance; the year is to resolve any sort of… squabbling that might arise. Due to recent events, the grace period has been waived."

"Sounds like something old." Harry mused.

"Quite old," Valerian affirmed. "A lot of wizards were prone to simply murdering in order to claim inheritance they felt was theirs by right. This clause was enforced quite stringently. It's still useful today."

"So, because Bellatrix and Narcissa are married…"

"Bellatrix had no claim to the Black inheritance as it usually goes to the eldest, in this case Narcissa."

"And Narcissa is being held as a Death Eater."

"There is that. But because Sirius forgot to send me a form, you only owned it in name. She actually owned it."

"But then how – " Harry stopped as Valerian held up a hand.

"There is a little law that states that whatever inheritance the wife comes into during a marriage becomes the property of the husband. Narcissa didn't know this and I kindly informed Lucius of it. As soon as he signed over full rights to Grimmauld Place, it made you the sole heir to the Black estate. Narcissa was simply keeping it in trust for you until you reached eighteen."

"But how does owning Grimmauld Place make me the sole heir to the Black inheritance?"

"The Black inheritance is tied to the ownership of Grimmauld Place. Who owns the house, also owns all other Black property,"

"So Lucius basically signed over everything to me?"

"Correct. Narcissa now has no connections and can't fight her case from Azkaban. She's due to receive the Kiss in three weeks, along with the other remaining Death Eaters."

"There're still Dementors at Azkaban!" Harry sounded outraged. "But they sided with Voldemort!"

"I know, but the interim Minister feels it would be much better to keep an eye on them and tightly control the one thing they want. There are wizard guards there now as well. The Dementors are kept only for executions." Valerian paused. "Last I heard, all the candy shops were overjoyed. We might be facing a chocolate shortage in the near future."

Harry couldn't help but smile at Valerian's wry joke. "Okay, so I just sign and I'm bound to it?"

"Yes and no," Valerian looked at Harry for a moment. "Didn't you study how binding usually works?"

Harry stared at Valerian in disbelief, mind putting together the pieces. "You mean I've got to sign in blood?"

"Yes, you do. You know, I have to explain that to a good portion of my clients. It's especially applicable to you. The bind will ensure that no one can contest your claim to the inheritance. Your blood is what will –"

"Ugh, all right, before it gets any more complicated, what am I getting and what do I need to sign? And can this be kept simple?"

Valerian sighed as he separated the pile into seven smaller ones. "This," he tapped on the first pile to his right. "Is for all land properties in the Europe. This is for all other land properties," the pile to the left was tapped next. "This is for all monetary holdings and what income some estates generate and this is for all investments and the percentage in the respective company," the next two piles were tapped. "And this is for all Gringotts vaults with liquid assets and finally all other miscellaneous holdings and property." two more piles were tapped.

"What's that last one for?" Harry asked curiously.

"That is an addendum Sirius Black made to your inheritance. And I do say yours as he decided that you would be his heir from the time you were born," Valerian mused, rubbing his chin a bit. "He added to it as time went by. The last time he added something was around the summer of 1995."

Harry didn't say anything for a long moment; that was the first summer he spent at Grimmauld Place. "Well, what is it?"

"There's a letter here for you to be read only when you have completed the process," Valerian instructed. "The rest is various other accounts and assets set up in your name, for specific purposes."

"Oh," Harry said, looking down at the wax seal with the tiny red letters of 'Toujours pur' before he pushed it aside. "Well, is there anything else major that I should know about this?" he gestured to the papers.

Valerian shook his head. "While you will own a sizeable portion of some companies, it's not large enough that you will have shareholder responsibilities. It's more of what you own rather than how much."

"Really?"

"Yes," Valerian began as he rummaged through the fourth pile from his right. "Here, for example, the Nimbus Racing Broom Company. They'd received a good amount of research Galleons from Aristide Black, and as per their contract of the time, they continue to receive monthly amounts that entitle any Black to certain privileges for as long as the company exists."

"So that's how Sirius…" Harry trailed off as Valerian spoke.

"He checked in on that contract in 1993; I think it's the one thing Sirius is glad his father did," Valerian smiled. "Believe it or not, I do know a bit about you. But it was still something of a surprise when Lucius asked me to deliver that letter to you."

"I'll bet," Harry said. "So these papers are mine?"

"I would advise keeping them for documentation purposes," Valerian suggested. "And visit the property to ensure that everything is there and accounted for. I don't know how long it's been since Sirius was there and who knows what any other Black might have done."

Harry nodded his head. "So, where's the stuff I have to sign?"

"Right here. Not that much, wouldn't you agree?"

Harry watched as Valerian reached into his portfolio again and drew out a thinner pile of papers; he did agree with him, but was still a good amount to sign. In his own blood nonetheless. He sighed and looked around wondering if he should get a kitchen knife to draw some blood when he heard the sound of someone Flooing in. He rose from his seat and walked to the edge of the screen, peering around. Ginny was standing in the living room, looking flustered and anxious.

"Ginny, what are you doing here?" he asked, coming out.

"I-I wanted to talk," she said, her voice hesitant. "And everyone else has been busy and you were the only one I could talk to about everything that's happened and what I… what I…"

"Okay, just sit right here. I'll be with you in a moment."

"Did I interrupt something?" she leaned to the side, as if to look around the screen.

"It's all right; just have a seat." Harry said, gesturing to the couch.

Harry walked back to the table and found Valerian packing up the papers. He gave him an apologetic look. Valerian simply smiled and shook his head in dismissal.

"I guess you'll owl me later to take care of this?" Harry asked.

Valerian nodded his head. "I'll slip out the front and Apparate back. Miss Weasley might not be comfortable with me here."

Harry nodded and looked around the screen. Ginny was sitting on the couch with a distracted expression and playing with the sleeve of her robe. He motioned to Valerian and walked him to the front door quickly. Once he'd locked the door, he went back into the living room and sat down on the couch beside Ginny.

"Hungry? Thirsty?" he asked.

"No, I'm fine, thanks," Ginny said. "I had something to eat for breakfast this morning."

"All right then," Harry sat back into the couch. "What did you want to talk about?"

"Everything!" Ginny said in a sniffling voice as she blinked rapidly. "I didn't pay any attention to what anyone was saying, I was so mean to them and stirred up so much trouble and Mr. Malfoy was so mean – "

Ginny's eyes, which had become progressively shinier, were now brimming with tears and she screwed her eyes shut, rubbing at her nose with sniffling gulps. Harry watched as she hunched her shoulders, her back trembling from her gulps.

" – And then Tonks tells me that Octavia is really Mrs. Malfoy and she was using me the entire time to try and land Mr. Malfoy in Azkaban and…" she trailed off, rubbing at her eyes now. "And I was such an idiot to actually let myself listen to her. That's how she got me and then…"

She broke off into full-fledged sobs now and Harry scooted in a bit closer, patting her on the back. He really didn't know how to handle sobbing girls. Ginny gave a pained sound and flung her arms around Harry, sobbing into his shoulder. Harry looked around in mild panic, realising he was completely alone with her. He now had a sobbing Ginny clinging to him. This was not going well at all.

He finally decided to simply let her cling to him. Perhaps, he thought, if he made no sudden movements, she just might not tighten her grip any, and her crying would, hopefully, stop eventually. It seemed to take awhile before her sobs subsided and became sniffles again.

"Harry, what am I going to do?" Ginny asked in a scared voice. He could barely hear her, as she was talking into his shoulder. "Mum and Dad have been really careful around me. Nobody else in the family wants to really talk to me. Ron… he won't even look at me any more."

"Well," Harry began, disentangling her arms from around him slowly. "Maybe you should apologise."

Ginny didn't say anything to that. Harry looked to find her staring down at the floor. He sighed.

"It's not going to go away Ginny. You did something. No amount of hiding is going to solve the problem. It might be easier to solve it than just hiding from everyone else."

"How did you – "

"I used to do the same thing."

Ginny sniffled and sat up, not saying anything for a long moment. "I don't think Ron will hear me out. I know the others will, but Ron…"

"Ron will," Harry said. "He was just mad because of all those things you said that night."

Ginny took a deep breath, as if steeling herself. "I said some awful things to him."

"You did," Harry said a moment later. "But you're admitting that you said some awful things. Some people would just try to ignore it and continue on as if nothing happened."

Ginny nodded her head. "I'm glad Dumbledore let me come to speak to you. I really didn't know who else to talk to," she paused for a moment before she laughed. "I guess it's a good thing you didn't stick around, before I got really nasty, huh?"

"Seems so. Otherwise, you wouldn't have been able to come here, would you?"

"No, I guess not." She didn't speak for a long moment. "I'm glad you're all right Harry."

Harry gave a shrug but peered into her face. "Are you going to be?"

"Eventually," she replied. "Do you think that when I apologise, you can come with me?"

"Sure, if you like."

"Good. Because I don't think I'll be able to do it alone when I go to St. Mungo's."

"What? St. Mungo's?" Harry repeated.

"I'm going to apologise to Mr. Malfoy as well. Even though he's a creep, he was found somewhat innocent."

Harry chose to not reply to that. He wasn't sure if he could even say anything remotely objective. He simply settled on patting Ginny's shoulder again. She sighed and finally sat up properly, wiping at her eyes.

"It's all right if you don't want to come with me," Ginny said. "I mean you might not want to –"

"No, I'll come with you. Do you really see anyone else going with you?" Harry asked.

Ginny shook her head. "Maybe I should do that now…"

"It might be better to do it after you've apologised to anyone else. It won't seem so bad if he rejects it."

"Good point." Ginny took another deep breath and rose. "Okay, I'm going to head back now. I've got a lot of thinking to do."

"Thinking?" Harry echoed.

"Well, I'm not going to just come up with something to say on the spot. Just seems wrong. I should put some thought into what I am going to say." Ginny shook her head a moment later. "Lord, this isn't going to be easy at all."

Harry watched as Ginny stepped into the fireplace and vanished in a burst of green flames. He went back to the table and got his bowl of ice cream. He found that it had melted. He made a face, walked into the kitchen and rinsed it all down the sink before leaving the bowl there. After a few moments, he walked to his front closet, slipped on some sneakers, grabbed a jacket and headed for the fireplace.

It didn't take him long to Floo over to the Burrow and when he stepped out, he just caught a glimpse of Mrs. Weasley's back disappearing into the kitchen.

"Mrs. Weasley?" he called.

A shriek of surprise came from the kitchen and the next thing he knew Mrs. Weasley came hurrying out the kitchen and wrapped him in a hug before she pulled back, looking him over.

"Gracious Merlin Harry, I didn't expect you to come and visit so soon. You said you didn't feel like going anywhere for a good while when I saw you last."

"I know. I just really need to talk to Ron." Harry said. "Is he back yet?"

"He's been back for an hour now. He's up in his room with some company."

"Oh, I'll just pop up then. I don't think it'll take long." Harry said as he headed for the staircase.

"Are you sure you're feeling all right? You can always talk to Ron later, dear." Mrs. Weasley said as she came after him.

"I'm fine," Harry replied. "Really, I do need to talk to Ron. It's kind of urgent."

"All right then," Mrs. Weasley didn't seem all too pleased with his explanation. "Up you go then."

Harry nodded and took the stairs two at a time hurrying up to the top floor. He paused at the landing for a moment. He was expecting this to go horribly wrong and Ron would never want to see him again. But he at least had to try and talk to him. And then he would have to hunt Seamus down and do it all over again. He could hear murmuring through the door but it was so low that he couldn't make it out.

"Yeah, this is going to be a great day," he muttered to himself as he knocked on the door. "Ron'll yell at me and Seamus just might go running to the press."

Nothing sounded for a moment. "Who is it?" Ron's voice was muffled.

"It's me," Harry called. "Can I come in?"

There was more murmuring and then the door opened slowly. Harry stepped into the violently orange room to find Seamus sitting on the bed beside Parvati. They were looking at him intently and it made him kind of nervous. He waved slightly with a smile but it disappeared quickly. The door closed and he heard a murmur of a spell being uttered. When he looked back, he found Ron leaning against it, his arms crossed.

Harry had a very sinking feeling that this would not go well. "Hi." He finally said, in a calmer voice than he felt.

"Harry," Ron said finally. "Just what have you been doing?"

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, wishing he could sit somewhere; he felt like he was facing an inquisition.

"With Lucius Malfoy," Ron replied. "First Seamus tells us that you're oddly attached to him and next thing I know, Tonks tells Hermione and Professor Snape that they should tell me because Seamus knew…" he shook his head. "I seem to be the only one who didn't know what the hell you've been doing in your love life."

"Ron –" Harry began.

"We know you're seeing him," Ron interrupted. "And you have been for a year… somehow. But all we have is garbled information and some bare basics. And it's all come from everyone else, except you."

"So…" Harry trailed off, unsure of what they wanted from him.

"We want to hear your side of it." Ron said simply.

Harry was expecting some huge blowup and, quite possibly, the end of his friendship with Ron. He wasn't expecting a calm, almost Hermione-like approach to the whole situation. He stared at Ron, not quite believing what he was hearing.

"Um… come again?" he asked, feeling a bit stupid.

"We want to hear your side of it," Ron said as he walked over to his desk and pulled out the rickety chair. "Take all the time you need. I've finished work for the day and Seamus and Parvati have nothing to do."

Harry looked at the chair feeling like he was being led to the gallows. Even the stake. Either way, it was not a good feeling. He sat down in the chair gingerly, as Ron squeezed into the space on the end of his bed. There was a long silence in which Harry just looked at them and they looked back.

"You aren't going to ask me anything?" he asked.

"Why? You're supposed to be talking." Seamus replied, still looking at Harry expectantly.

"Well, you all look like you want me to say the right thing." Harry cringed mentally at the peevish tone in his voice.

"We just want you to tell us something," Ron shrugged. "There's nothing exactly right or wrong."

"Then why do I get the feeling that you're lying," Harry said. "That you all want me to say something like nothing happened."

"Maybe that's what you're expecting from us." Seamus stated flatly.

Harry shrugged a moment later. That probably was it. His mind was supplying a steady stream of scenarios where everything went wrong.

"I don't know what to say," Harry said a moment later. "So maybe you should ask me some questions."

"We'd rather heard your version of it Harry." Parvati said quietly.

"All right, fine," Harry said. "I ended up in Spain. Lucius ended up in Spain. We stuck a truce, we got along. We kissed once, then again, then we slept together and then we were happy and life seemed like it was finally going right for me. And then Dumbledore dragged me back here to finish off his little war. Lucius got taken back by the Death Eaters. Some more stuff happened. Then Lucius and Severus found out about a potion and it helped me off the Dark Lord, along with the spell that 'Mione found. And I thought maybe, just maybe, I can finally be happy again for once in my shoddy little life, but some people found out. They all decided to keep it quiet, and things didn't seem so bad. And then Lucius' bitch of a wife tried to kill him and then me and I ended up in St. Mungo's and then Snape tells me that even more people know and if they used Veritaserum on her, then whoever interrogated her knows and I don't know how many people know now and it's only a matter of time until it hits the papers and God, can't something just go my way for once in my life?"

Silence followed on the heels of Harry's rushed, angry words. He sank back into his seat and crossed his arms. Ron didn't say anything, watching him for a long moment. Seamus looked uncomfortable and Parvati looked deep in thought. Harry stared down at his knees; he could feel them staring at him, as if preparing to say something. After a moment, the bed creaked and Harry could make out the hem of Parvati's purple robes in front of him.

"Harry," Parvati began as she crouched down. "Don't you think that you might just be assuming the worst?"

"Better than being disappointed." Harry replied a bit petulantly.

"Well I, for one, think that your explanation says enough; if it's… Lucius you want to be with…" she trailed off.

"Honestly," Ron asked, standing up and crossing his arms with a scowl. "Why _Malfoy_ of all people? I mean… _Malfoy_?"

"Ron, don't start." Parvati said in a warning tone of voice.

"No Parv, I want a straight answer from him. He just gave us a lot of circumstances and said how he felt about them. He didn't say how he felt about… him."

Harry didn't say anything, watching Ron for a long moment. "What do you want me to say? Because I have a feeling that no matter how I try to phrase it, you're not going to like my response."

Ron looked flabbergasted for a second before he regained his composure. "Harry, since you can't seem to give me a bloody straight answer, I want you to answer something for me."

"All right," Harry replied, as he gripped his knees, preparing for the worst.

"Yes or no; do you love him?"

Harry spluttered for a moment, staring at Ron like he was off his rocker.

"What do you mean, 'do I love him'?"

"You heard me." Ron said flatly.

Harry stared at Ron for a bit longer, unable to make his brain think properly. "How can you expect me to answer something like that?" he bristled.

"Because I'm your friend and I think the least I deserve is an honest answer!" Ron retorted, his face flushing red.

"Ron, may I talk to you for a moment?" Parvati asked quickly. "Somewhere private?"

Harry watched as Parvati dragged Ron from the room and firmly shut the door. A second later, there came the sound of a locking spell. He slouched in his chair and crossed his arms glancing at Seamus.

"Don't you have something to say?"

It was silence that greeted him in reply. Harry looked up to find Seamus staring at his clasped hands, with a sullen expression on his face.

"Fine by me." Harry muttered to himself as he sat up a bit.

He was looking at the Cannons posters on the walls when Seamus spoke and startled him a bit.

"Why?"

"Huh? Why what?" Harry asked, glancing at Seamus.

"Why him?" Seamus shifted to the edge of the bed. "What does he have that I don't?"

"Lucius?" Harry asked, still feeling a bit wary. "What does that matter?"

"Everything!" Seamus exploded. "Here I am trying my damnedest to get you back and you've been with… with… Lucius bloody Malfoy the entire time, you… you… cocktease!"

Harry scowled darkly. "Take that back Finnegan."

"Oh, so we're on a surname basis now?"

"Since you just insulted me, yes! Slut, cocktease, it's all the same thing when you get down to it and I swear to God if you don't take it back, I'll hex you so bad your mum won't recognise you when you're admitted to St. Mungo's."

Seamus scrambled up from his seat, looking ready to fight. "Well maybe if you'd stop acting like a hermit and see people once in awhile –"

"I think I'll keep being a hermit! I had reporters stalking me at Hogwarts; d'you think they'll let up now that I'm out on my own now. They don't know where I am and I'm not about to have them starting up a 'Harry Potter Sightings' page in the Daily Prophet or Witch Weekly!"

"Christ, you're being a _bit_ self-centered!" Seamus retorted.

"I think I'm bloody well entitled to it!" Harry snarled. "I only offed Voldemort after all. I'm thinking about something solely for me at the moment."

"Would you not say his name?" Seamus ground out. "I don't want to hear about him when we're talking about us."

Harry glared at Seamus for a second before he bellowed, "Voldemort!" at the top of his lungs. "Voldemort, Voldemort, Voldemort! Vol-de-bloody-mort! I'll say his damned name if I want to!"

"Don't you have any common sense at all?" Seamus demanded as he moved closer to Harry. "You don't have to go crowing his name in the middle of an argument! It makes no sense!"

"Too bad for you! This whole stupid argument is just you bitching and whining like a little kid, and already makes no sense," Harry snapped. "Volde-"

Seamus clapped a hand over Harry's mouth, muffling the word. Harry bit down on his hand and shoved him away as Seamus recoiled with a hiss. Seamus shook his hand, as if to take away the sting of the bite, before he glared at Harry.

"That was a cheap shot." Seamus said accusingly.

"Does it look like I really care?" Harry hissed back. "Let me spell it out for you Seamus: there. Is. No. Us. Got it? There won't be an us," he made exaggerated hand motions between himself and Seamus. "Ever again, got it? You and me aren't gonna happen."

"And why the hell not!" Seamus demanded.

"Because we're not!" Harry was quickly reaching the end of his admittedly short patience.

"You're just saying that because Lucius messed with your head and –"

"He didn't mess up my head, all right! He didn't mess with my head, he didn't force me into anything, nothing like that!" Harry bristled. "You're just making up… delusions!"

"Delusions?" Seamus repeated incredulously. "I'm making up delusions? I'm not the one letting Lucius Malfoy fuck me into the mattress!"

Harry's hand was already moving before he could even think of an appropriately outraged response. It caught Seamus high in the face, connecting with the side of his head. Seamus gave Harry a shocked look before anger flooded his face and he slapped Harry right back. The next thing Harry knew, he had socked Seamus right in the face with a left hook and then felt a fist settling in his gut. He drove his shoulder into Seamus midsection and drove him against the door. The air left Seamus' body with a huff, and Harry felt blows on his back. He tried to pull back, but Seamus clung on and made him overbalance. They fell to the floor, still scuffling and pummelling one another with blows landing everywhere.

"Oi!" Ron yelled as he burst back into the room. "Break it up!"

It took Ron quite a bit of effort to break Harry and Seamus up. Harry wiped at the blood that was trickling from a cut on his eyebrow while Seamus stopped the blood dripping from his nose with his sleeve. Harry's face felt sore in a few places and he knew he'd be sporting some bruises by tomorrow. Though, if Seamus' expression was anything to judge from, at least the Irish boy would be aching as much too.

"What the bloody hell is going on?" Ron demanded as he looked between Harry and Seamus.

"Nothing. We're done." Seamus managed thickly before he stomped from the room.

Harry glared after him before he snorted once Seamus was gone. "Good riddance." He muttered.

"Cripes Harry, I step out for one minute and next thing I know, you two are brawling!" Ron didn't look too happy. "What happened?"

"He insulted me! And Lucius!" Harry snapped.

"Don't go trying to bite my head off," Ron warned. "I didn't try to beat you up."

"I know, I know," Harry righted the chair and seated himself again with a sigh. "Sorry, but Seamus just got me so mad…"

Ron didn't say anything for a moment before he sat back down on the side of his bed. "Does he really mean that much to you?"

Harry didn't say anything for a moment before he simply nodded his head. Ron gave a long huff before he rubbed his face briskly.

"Well, Parv is downstairs helping Mum, so we are going to have a talk about you and Lucius."

Harry didn't know whether to be glad that Ron hadn't descended into a yelling fit or worried about this talk that Ron wanted to have with him. And even as he watched Ron's expression carefully, he still couldn't tell. He did know, however, that he was in for a long afternoon.

* * *

Being back in St. Mungo's was not very pleasing. It didn't help that he had little less than two weeks in here. While he had a room with a view this time, he found himself becoming increasingly restless. Tonks was flitting in and out seeing him when she could. Valerian was handling his full pardon as well as Harry's inheritance paperwork and probably about twenty other cases; the man simply did not know that there was such a thing as rest. The only thing he really had to keep him company in the days was six newspapers. It was even more aggravating that he dragged out reading each one, so that they would last through the day.

His ribs were fully healed and didn't hurt as much to breathe. Some of his joints felt oddly stiff, but it wasn't anything too unbearable. All major healing had been taken care of in his first week, and he had been asleep for most of it. These last few weeks were for smaller things, like allowing torn cartilage and tendons to heal, and for Cruciatus stressed muscles to fully rest and relax.

Today, the sky was overcast with pearly grey clouds and it seemed to be snowing lightly. He turned his attention back to the ignored newspaper in his lap. There was only so much speculation that he could take. The papers were still running stories on the Death Eater trials and imminent executions, but what seemed to be popping up everywhere was anything remotely related to Harry. Sometimes there were grainy looking photographs and wild rumours. But no one seemed able to find out exactly where he was.

It was one small thing that Lucius was grateful for. If someone had found out where Harry lived, it meant that it was only a matter of time before he was spotted in the company of younger wizard. That would be all the fodder that the gossips needed.

The sound of the door opening made him look over. Today Tonks hair was a forest green colour with streaks of white. She had a smile on her face as she grabbed a chair and brought to his bedside.

"You look like a peppermint." Lucius snorted as he folded his newspaper and placed it on the sill with the others.

"That was the look I was going for," Tonks grinned. "I was getting a bit bored with neon colours. I think I might try to get the jellied slugs colour next week."

"I'm sure a vile shade of orange will be most attractive," Lucius mused. "As something like plain black must be far too bland."

"Definitely; not nearly interesting as a vile shade of orange." Tonks laughed before she sobered up. "I've got three things to tell you."

"And they would be?"

"Valerian finished with the paperwork and the proceedings today; you're officially a free man. No parole, no checking in, nothing. Can't tell how glad I am; it's that much less paperwork for me."

"And the second one?"

"Ginny's dropped her lawsuit against you. The whole mess is now gone."

Lucius didn't say anything for a moment. "The third?"

Tonks took a deep breath. "You've got a visitor."

"And may I ask who it is?"

"Ginny Weasley."

"I have no interest in speaking with her." Lucius said curtly as he picked up the newspaper again.

"The thing is," Tonks began as she rubbed at the back of her neck. "I think she has something to say to you whether you want to hear it or not."

Lucius gave Tonks a long look before he opened the newspaper and started reading the latest claim that some witch in Cornwall was now carrying Harry Potter's love child. He had no interest in hearing anything else Ginny Weasley possibly had to say to him.

"Lucius?" Tonks asked a bit hesitantly.

Lucius elected to not reply, simply turning the page to read a summary on Bellatrix's trial. Tonks rose from her seat with a sigh and made her way to the door. She stood in the doorway and Lucius could hear muffled conversation from three people. He thought it odd, but when Ginny stepped into the room, followed by Harry he found himself raising an eyebrow in surprise. Harry gave him a look and shook his head slightly. Ginny looked momentarily bemused before she took a deep breath. Lucius was fairly sure that he didn't want to hear it at all, so he turned his attention back to the newspaper.

Footsteps made their way over to his bedside, and he could hear nervous breathing. Lucius didn't bother to look up from his newspaper.

"Mr. Malfoy," Ginny started after a long moment. "I would like to apologise for… attempting to sue you. I let Mrs. Malfoy get the better of me and…"

Lucius put the paper down and looked up at Ginny. She was standing there, her gaze fixed on him resolutely and her hands balled into fists at her side. He knew that expression; she was here merely to apologise and ease her troubled mind.

"Look, I just wanted to apologise. The least you could do would be to have the decency to look me in the eye when I'm talking to you," Ginny said. "I'm sorry that I attempted to sue you and I put you through that. I'm still not too sure what happened, but I don't think it was you that… did it. Mrs. Malfoy got the better of me, preyed on me, and goaded me into doing what I did. You don't have to accept my apology or anything, but that's what I wanted to say to you. I'll be going now."

"Would you stay a moment, Ginny?" Harry suddenly asked.

Lucius looked at him in surprise, as did Ginny. Harry rose from his seat and came over to the bed, sitting down on the edge.

"Harry?" Ginny asked.

"You asked me how I got so bruised; well, the truth of the matter is, Seamus as I had a fight three days ago."

"About?" Ginny's eyes were flitting between Harry and Lucius warily.

"Lucius," Harry said simply before he took a deep breath. "Seamus didn't exactly… approve of me seeing him."

Lucius pegged Harry with a hard look while Ginny was looking between them incredulously, her jaw slack.

"Kindly say something or shut your mouth." Lucius said a bit acidly.

"W-What?" Ginny said in a hoarse whisper. "You're seeing Lucius?

Harry nodded. "Look, you don't have to like it, but what Ron said when we talked was true: you deserve to know, you all do. But if you can't handle it, please, just don't go blabbling, that's all I'm asking."

"But Harry, the things he's done –"

"I know some of the things he's done. Others… well, I think we'd both rather not go there. But I do know Gin."

Lucius watched as Ginny stared at them incredulously before she stepped back, weakly feeling for the seat. When she found it, she sat down heavily in it and closed her eyes.

"Is he the only reason why you came with me today?"

"No; I came because you needed someone to come with you," Harry didn't say anything for a moment. "Besides, you were pretty worked up when you came to see me anyhow."

Ginny didn't say anything for a moment. "How long?"

"Over a year now. In a few months, it'll be two."

Ginny sat in the chair for a bit longer before she opened her eyes and rose. "I think I'm going to go talk to Tonks. Maybe go have some tea or a pint or something."

There was a dazed sort of light in Ginny's eyes that Harry didn't miss either.

"Gin?" Harry started from the bed.

"No… just… no, I need some time, all right?" Ginny said a bit absently as she made her way to the door. "Just give me a bit of time."

Lucius watched as Ginny stepped out into the hallway, closing the door behind her. Harry didn't move for a moment before he sank back on the bed.

"Well, that went well."

"Absolutely brilliant," Lucius mused dryly as he rested the paper on the sill once more. "Telling yet another person."

"You know it was only a matter of time," Harry said a bit defensively. "I don't think Ginny would tell. Seamus just might."

"I'm sure there's some discreet method to shut him up."

"Why bother? If someone goes digging deep enough, they'll find out about it. And any thing like that will just prove what we've been trying to keep secret. It's over Lucius."

"Over?" Lucius repeated as Harry held his head in his hands. Harry could not have just said that he thought in shock.

Harry nodded his head and sighed, toeing off his shoes he stretched out on the bed beside Lucius. "The Daily Prophet society pages and Witch Weekly will be all over this. Our privacy will be completely dead and over with by what… what month is it now?"

"November, late November." Lucius replied.

"Cripes, where the hell do the days go? I'd give it until mid-December at best," Harry looked over at him and frowned. "Is something wrong? You look… really relieved."

"Don't bother, it's quite all right," Lucius felt absolutely silly now.

"Are you sure?" Harry sat up, an anxious expression on his face. "I didn't mean to upset you… if I did. Did I?"

Lucius didn't reply for a moment. "You should choose your words carefully."

"Choose my words carefully?" Harry echoed in puzzlement. "I just said that it's over… oh." He gave Lucius a sheepish look as he fully comprehended what he had accidentally implied. "Well, our privacy will be over. Not us. What, are you mad or something?"

"Not at you," Lucius said, seeing a particularly dark bruise on Harry's chin.

"Hm? Oh, just forget about Seamus," Harry gave an irritable wave of his hand. "If he wants to be an ass about it, then let him be."

Lucius didn't say anything, reaching over and cupping Harry's chin. Harry glanced at him but didn't say anything as he closed his eyes. Lucius ran his fingers along Harry's jawbone lightly, stopping once he encountered the bruise, as well as the scar.

"He managed to punch me in the same spot you scarred me," Harry cracked an eye open, an amused smile coming to his face. "A bit ironic, don't you think?"

"Very," Lucius replied.

Harry opened both eyes fully. "You'll have a clean bill of health when you're released, right?"

"With only a few minor warnings of not to stress myself out and the like."

Harry didn't say anything for a moment. "And if our privacy is shot to all hell, why don't we have a bit of fun?"

"Fun?"

"Yes, fun," Harry gave a wicked grin. "And if we do it right, they'll drive themselves nuts when we leave."

"Leave?" Lucius couldn't quite see where Harry was going with this.

"You were the one that suggested travelling, Lucius."

Lucius felt a smirk coming to his face as Harry's smile grew wider; he understood now. "I daresay you do enjoy playing with people's minds."

Harry sat up and gave a shrug. "I suppose Dumbledore isn't all that bad; who else would have been such a great example of manipulating people?"

"It sounds like you're paraphrasing me."

"Not exactly; you used the words of controlling and strange logic."

"Thankfully, you lack his odd obliqueness."

"I know," Harry sighed. "I better get going before someone other than Tonks or Gin comes in here and finds us like this."

Lucius watched as Harry swung his legs over the side of the bed and jammed his feet into his shoes. He was rising from the bed, when Lucius quickly caught his arm. Harry turned and looked back at him in surprise.

"Did you want something?" he asked.

Lucius cleared his throat and arched an eyebrow questioningly. Harry cocked his head and blinked, though he had a small impish smile on his face.

"Really Lucius, what is it that you want? You're going to have to tell me."

"You know precisely what I want."

"No, really I don't. Why don't you just – mmpf!"

Lucius had tugged on Harry's arm, making him stretch over the bed so he could kiss him properly. One of Harry's hands had slid up into Lucius hair and he was half climbing back on the bed when the door was swung open.

"Heads up! Healer Sargad is coming this way right now!" Tonks hissed.

Lucius didn't think Harry could have ever pulled out of a kiss so fast. Not even a split second after Tonks' warning, Lucius found Harry's lips gone.

"Sheesh, she'll chew me up and spit me out if she thinks I've been bothering you. I'd better get out of here."

"Aren't you supposed to be a hero?" Lucius asked in dry amusement.

Harry shot him a look before he snorted. "Not against her. I like my head on my shoulders, thanks." He paused and looked back at Lucius. "I'll see you later on, all right? Might pop by the manor to see how Draco's doing… finally, since I know he won't hex me to death."

Lucius shook his head as Harry darted to the door and slipped out, saying something quickly to someone. A few seconds later, Idun walked in through the door, with a slightly confused expression on her face.

"Lucius," she said slowly as she came to the bedside. "What on Earth would Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley be here seeing you for?"

"Young Miss Weasley was here to offer her apologies; Mr. Potter came along for moral support."

Idun coughed at that, an odd little smirk coming to her face. "Oh, I see. So the fact that you and Mr. Potter have obviously… swollen lips, dilated pupils and slightly erratic breathing means…"

"Nothing." Lucius replied crisply.

"Of course not," Idun's smirk grew wider. "All right, let's see how you're doing today, shall we? You're slowly but surely getting better. "

Lucius couldn't wait to leave the hospital.

* * *


	38. Chapter 37

_**Come the Maëlstrom**_

_Chapter Thirty Seven_

Harry didn't think it possible, but his disappearance and rescue must have generated even more owls. It had finally become widespread knowledge that he had been released from St. Mungo's and was back home. Percy must have enforced the injunction as long as he possibly could.

When he had woken up, he had found Hedwig perched on the back of the couch, hooting balefully at the solarium. Harry had walked in and stared out the window in surprise. Every single tree in the area had at least one owl perched on it, waiting patiently. After a moment's hesitation, he walked up to the window, opened it and dove for the living room because of all the owls that tried to get in at once. By the time all the letters were delivered the solarium was absolutely buried in envelopes. The pile was as high as the window and he could see a few more owls winging their way towards him. It was easily two weeks worth of accumulated mail.

"No way, I can't be bothered to deal with that now," Harry muttered as he went to the kitchen to fix himself a cup of tea. "I'll do it after lunch… or something."

Hedwig gave Harry a reproachful hoot and Harry made some vague noise of disagreement. Sifting through that huge pile of letters was something he was not looking forward to. There were only so many letters that his fireplace could hold and he saw at five burnings worth sitting there. He gave his head a little shake as the kettle with water whistled. A few minutes later, he was sitting on the couch, sipping his drink and trying to not turn back to glare at the pile.

With a sigh of frustration he rose and strode back to the pile drawing his wand as he went. Just by eyeing the pile it looked as if a majority of it was indeed destined for the fireplace. He'd ignored it when he got back from St. Mungo's, he ignored it after going back there with Ginny, but now… the mountain of letters needed to be dealt with.

He regarded the pile for a few moments longer before he sighed with resignation and flicked his wand a few times, organising the letters by contents. The envelopes fluttered through the room for a few minutes before three piles sat in the room. He was sure the largest pile was from people he didn't even know. The second one wasn't that large and probably contained job offers. The last one was the smallest and had three envelopes, which was likely from his friends.

That was the pile he picked up first as he headed to the couch to read them. One was from Ron, one from Remus and one from Hermione. He placed his coffee mug on the floor and opened Remus' letter first. The first thing that caught his attention was a phone number at the bottom. A grin came to his face as he rose from the couch and went looking for the cordless phone, letter still clutched in hand. When he found it upstairs beneath the bed in the guest room, he dialled the number as he headed back down to the living room.

It rang a few times before the sound of someone struggling with the phone came. After a few more seconds, there came somewhat faint words.

"Hello?" Remus' voice sounded far away. "Hello? Who is it?"

Harry frowned. "Is that you Remus? I can barely hear you."

The sound of muttering came through the receiver for a second. "There; I had it backwards. Harry, is that you?"

"Hi," Harry couldn't stop the smile from coming to his face. "I finally got your letter."

"Finally?" Remus echoed. "I only sent it yesterday."

"Oh. I finally tackled the huge pile of envelopes that have been waiting for me today," Harry plunked himself back down on the couch and picked up his mug. "So how have you been?"

"Unbelievably busy," Remus said, with the sound of someone protesting coming from the background. "I've been buried under paperwork, donations, Howlers and the like since everyone found out that Lucius was donating to Loup Garou."

"Guess that press conference did some good after all,"

"In a manner of speaking," the sound of Remus walking came now, followed by a door being closed. "And how have you been?"

"Not too bad. Ron found out and we had a long talk… well, more like he asked the questions and I answered them."

"How'd he find out?"

"Apparently Snape or Hermione told him… I think… I'm still not too clear on what actually happened, but he found out."

"Ah, so there wasn't some huge argument?"

"No actually… I got into an… argument with Seamus over it though."

Remus didn't say anything for a moment. "It sounds like you're losing your privacy. Are you planning to discuss this with Lucius when he's released from the hospital?"

"I talked to him about it already; not as much as I would have liked to, but we talked," Harry admitted, placing his mug back on the floor and then swinging his feet onto the couch. "It's actually not all that bad… being found out now."

"Not all that bad? I was under the impression that you wanted your privacy."

"Oh, we do, don't get me wrong. But we realise at this point that it's pretty much unstoppable now. We'll be found out eventually… so we're going to do it on our terms."

"Your terms being…?"

"Still working on that. I'm sure we'll come up with something suitably irritating."

"Irritating for everyone trying to put the pieces together?"

"Exactly."

Remus didn't speak for a moment. "Are you smirking?"

"No," Harry lied, his voice a bit tremulous.

"Right," Remus replied dryly. "Will I at least be reading something not remotely scandalous in the Daily Prophet?"

"Depends on how much they sensationalise it," Harry shrugged. "And probably not at first…"

Remus made a slightly disapproving noise in his throat. "You'd really better be careful or you might start finding Howlers in your mail."

"Good point," Harry winced at that mental image. "You didn't have company over, did you?"

"No, it's just Ravenna. She decided it would be best if we operated out of the office and my place rather than hers; it's a bit too small. Did you have something in mind?"

"I thought it might be nice if we could go out for a late breakfast. Ravenna can come too if she likes."

"That would be nice," the smile in Remus' voice was evident. "Any place in particular?"

"No not really. Just not in Diagon Alley; that's asking for trouble."

Remus chuckled. "All right then, I'll Floo over in a bit, how does that sound? You're probably still in your pyjamas."

Harry glanced down at said pyjamas. "Twenty minutes should be good."

"Then I'll see you in twenty minutes." Remus affirmed.

They chatted for a bit longer before saying goodbye and hanging up. Harry put the phone back in the cradle and turned his attention back to the two remaining letters in his hands. After a moment's thought, he opened Hermione's letter. It was the usual stuff, asking how he was, if was still looking for a job and an inquiry as to how Lucius was doing. Then he opened Ron's letter. It was pretty much the same as Hermione's, only near the bottom Ron had helpfully given the date of the next time the entire Weasley family would be at the Burrow: the end of next week.

"Oi… that's not going to be fun." He sighed as he walked to the dining room table and left the letters there. "I guess I'll worry about it then." He muttered as he headed towards the stairs.

Hedwig gave another hoot, this time a bit offended. Harry turned to look at her.

"All right, I'll deal with them all when I get back, I promise." He offered.

Hedwig didn't seem satisfied with that as she ruffled her feather but gave a resigned hoot anyhow. Harry headed up the stairs to get ready.

* * *

Lucius had to admit, Harry was getting very clever and very adept at hiding himself from the cameras, unless he chose to be seen. For the past week there had been a steady increase in the number of, 'Harry Potter Sightings'. But all the photos were from far away and it was very hard to see him. Usually there was a charmed red circle in the picture, following his movements.

And he almost always had company in the photo. Sometimes, it was Granger or Weasley. Other times it was Lupin and Ravenna. But the most prevalent ones, the ones that caused the greatest stir, were the photos that snapped Harry in Draco's company.

The gossips had absolutely eaten that one up. After all, the feud between Harry and Draco at Hogwarts had been legendary. Harry was their saviour and Draco was the son of a man who had, in the general opinion, gotten off on a mere technicality. And now they were socialising together? The running theory, and most popular by far, was that romance was blooming. Another running theory, but much less popular, was that they were plotting something.

So naturally, if the romance rumours were true, Harry would have to meet with him at some point. And that was probably when everything would become completely confusing for anyone following the rumours about Harry in the newspapers.

Lucius was sitting on the side of the bed, dressed in clothes brought from the manor for him and waiting to see Idun. The Daily Prophet in his left hand was folded neatly but shaking slightly. Most of the nerves in that limb were badly damaged, especially in the hand and shoulder region. Even though they had been regrown, the side effect was trembling. Not to mention half the scars that he was now left with thanks to Narcissa's attention. He was watching the paper when the door opened and Idun strode in.

"Well Lucius, I must say, you have a horrible track record. Two women beat the crap out of you in less than a six month period and you live to tell the tale."

"Having my bones fused together and being tortured does not constitue having, "the crap" beaten out of me."

"Oh yes it does," Idun gave him an impish smirk. "But of course, I'm only the Healer that patched you back up again. Honestly, what would you do without me?"

"Not have to suffer your twisted idea of humour." Lucius replied wryly.

Idun waved her hand dismissively as she looked over her chart. "Well, everything on your charts checks out fine. You seem to be lucky that you keep getting out earlier. Now, would you mind standing for a moment?"

Lucius did so, his right knee paining a bit. Idun made a small noise as she noticed that.

"Well, considering how you could barely move without bitching like it was the end of the world, that's a massive improvement. It will loosen up as you exercise it more. Could you walk towards me please?"

Lucius did so, the pain in his knee vanishing as the muscle loosened up. But the tight scars at his side and along his front pulled a bit. Idun frowned as he came to a stop in front of her. She drew her wand, prodding him in certain spots before she drew back a bit.

"Revelo," she muttered, drawing her wand across the middle of his shirt. It was transparent for a moment, revealing the scars in question "Hm, well those scars will definitely cause some problems if left as it, especially that big one at the side. I've managed to get you a scar salve from Potare's; some of the best stuff ever. Now, you don't need a lot of it, just enough to cover your fingertips and massage it onto the scars. It will help make the tissue more flexible. And you only need to apply it once a day. When it's all done, you won't need to get any more; the scars should be perfectly fine.

He watched she reached in to her green robe and drew out a short squat bottle with a beige cream inside. "Side effects?"

"Nothing too serious I would imagine. It might cause some increased blood flow to the area but that's about it." Idun smiled as she placed it in his hand. "You should know that the front lobby is absolutely swarming with reporters and what not,"

Lucius couldn't quite stifle a snarl of irritation as he pocketed the cream. Idun smile however, grew wider.

"So I took the liberty of contacting Tonks to see about a Portkey for you. She quite agrees that you shouldn't have to fight your way through that; who knows what someone may try. The remaining Death Eaters may have been captured, but still, it's best to keep the cat out of the pixies, hm?"

"And my Portkey is to be?"

Idun reached into her robe again and drew out his wand. "You really should thank Tonks for you. We made the same arrangement for Harry and he was quite pleased with it, though his wand gave me hives on my arm. I think Tonks name was mud with the journalists for a bit."

Lucius reached for his wand but Idun drew it back. He glared at her but she simply watched him with a gleam in her eye.

"It's set to go off when only you are touching it, so I have a few more instructions for you. No heavy spell casting, no strenuous exercise, and only do what you feel capable of. Harry has a sensible head on his shoulders, so I'm sure he'll stop you from doing something foolhardy,"

Lucius vaguely wondered if that was supposed to be a joke of sorts.

"And if you feel that something's not right, contact me or Bruce, would you? Even if it's the smallest stupidest seeming thing."

"What about travelling?"

"Travelling?" Idun repeated. "I don't see any problem with that so long as you follow my instructions and don't forget to apply the cream."

Lucius took his wand as Idun handed it to him. But she still held on, shaking her head slightly.

"Is there something else?"

"If you are planning on travelling, I think I'd better tell Bruce to input your file into the travelling wizards archive. That way, if you do get beaten up again, they'll be able to get a hold of your healing history instantly. So he should have the approval form for you to sign to you within a few days at the most."

"Surely you don't think that I'm that accident prone." Lucius mused.

"Of course not. But again, best to keep the cat out of the pixies," Idun grinned. "Take care of yourself Lucius. Because it might not be me or Bruce there next time."

And with that Idun let go of the wand, activating the Portkey. When everything stopped swirling, he found himself standing in the front foyer of the manor. The murmur of voices echoed around him and he stepped forward, recognising them to be Harry and Draco's. After a few moments, he spied the parlour door open and he walked over, pushing it open slightly.

The curtains inside were open, allowing in the sunlight. Draco was sitting in the chair while Harry was sprawled on the floor in a patch of sunlight. They both were reading the Daily Prophet, Draco with a sneer and Harry with a supremely amused expression on his face.

"This idea of yours had better work," Draco grumbled, with his eyes still fixed on the paper. "I could be in Italy and not bothering with this nonsense."

"I know, but it's only for a bit longer, just until…" Harry trailed off and then looked up a smile coming to his face.

Draco remained oblivious. "Until what? You said around the end of December. If you make me miss my first Christmas with Blaise I'll curse your hide until –"

"Lucius!"

Draco looked up like he was stung and Harry scrambled to his feet and charged over, hugging Lucius. Lucius settled his arms around Harry easily, with a slight smile on his face. When he looked up at Draco, there was a wry expression on his son's face.

"It's good to see you both." Lucius simply stated.

"I didn't think you would get out until the end of the week," Harry still had a grin on his face.

"I was released early," Lucius looked around. "May I ask what you two are up to?"

"Seeing the Daily Prophet's latest rumours about us," Draco said as he closed his paper. "Apparently we're a very serious item."

"And as such, it's only a certain amount of time before I have to meet Draco's father," Harry had a smirk on his face.

"I see," Lucius began; it was nice to know that he was entirely correct. "And by the time they try to figure out the mess…?"

"We'll be long gone, as will Draco. They won't be able to get a straight answer from the source," Harry said simply as he let go of Lucius. "Sure Seamus might blab, but it won't be for a while, since he's still licking his wounds. And it won't quite be same as if I sat down a roomful of reporters and told them exactly what's happening."

"And when did you wish to start implementing this plan?" Lucius asked as he started to walk into the parlour to the empty seat.

"Sometime before the end of this week. I've got a dinner to go to at the Burrow next week. Only Ron and Ginny know, so I should tell everyone else. Because it'll be twice as bad if I up and leave and they have to hear it from Ron or Ginny."

Lucius didn't reply to that as he sat down in the seat. Harry took his spot in the pool of sunlight again, looking over the newspaper. Draco watched them for a moment before he cleared his throat.

"If you don't mind me asking, where are you planning to visit first?"

Lucius gave a slight shrug. "I'm sure we'll think of something appropriate at the time of our departure."

"It's not exactly a big deal," Harry replied a bit absently. "Maybe it's better that we ourselves don't know. Can't tell anyone about where we plan to go, can't possibly leak that way."

"So it's essentially a spur of the moment trip. Do you have any idea of how long you plan to be gone?"

"None," Lucius answered. "Though I would imagine it would be for a good amount of time. By the time we get back, the rumours might be completely dead."

"If we get back." Harry added for good measure.

"If?" Draco looked between them. "It sounds like you still have to discuss this a bit more."

Lucius gave Draco a slightly pointed look. Draco snorted as he rose from his seat and made his way to the door.

"Do me the small courtesy of casting a silencing charm. I don't want to hear your argument… or whatever else arises."

Draco paused at the door for a moment as the implication of his own words hit him. Harry chuckled at the shudder that passed through Draco before the door was hastily shut. Once it was shut, Lucius looked over to see Harry watching him intently.

"So, did you have any brilliant, concrete ideas?" Harry asked.

"None really," Lucius mused. "Perhaps this situation isn't so much about what we should do but what we shouldn't."

"…Um…okay." Harry said after a moment with a blank look on his face.

"We could make some intricate plan or we can keep it as it is now."

"You mean just be spotted together and then vanish away."

"Precisely; the only thing that needs to be seriously discussed is living abroad."

"I wouldn't mind it really," Harry began after a moment's thought. "It would be nice to be someplace other than here for a good long while."

"You suggested a place in Spain a while back."

"Well, yeah, as well as getting places in a few other countries."

Lucius took in the hesitant expression on Harry's face. "However…"

"Are you sure you'd be comfortable with that? Living somewhere else?"

"It wouldn't be the first time," Lucius replied mildly. "I have property in France and lived there as child. There are a few more properties overseas that I own but haven't seen. As they're all unplottable, we're guaranteed privacy."

"Hm, I've probably got a few now that I've got my inheritance. I got Valerian to explain it in layman's terms… but I haven't had the time to wade through all the papers stating just what I own, and it's a lot."

"Legalese is not a particularly stimulating language," Lucius mused dryly. "Perhaps I should come over to help you."

"That's a good idea. And if people ask just why we're gone at the same time, we have a very convenient excuse." Harry gave an impish smirk.

"Looking at property…" Lucius shook his head slightly. "That seems a rather…"

"Lame excuse?" Harry offered.

Lucius nodded his head. "But it will suffice."

"Actually, I can run back to my place and get everything," Harry sat up. "Would you mind if we took care of it now?"

"Not a problem. We can use my study; we won't be disturbed there," Lucius began as he rose. "I'll have Bwink waiting for you when you come back."

"Thanks," Harry hurried over and gave Lucius a kiss on the cheek before he dashed out of the parlour.

Lucius watched the door swinging slightly with an amused expression before he rose and made his way to his study. It didn't take long to summon Bwink and instruct her to escort Harry to the study when he came back. He settled down in his seat, after taking the cream from his pocket. He found a book and had only started reading for about ten minutes when the study door opened again. Harry walked in, his pockets bulging slightly.

"Okay," he came to a stop in front of the desk and took out two large sheaves of parchment. "This is everything. It's been divided up into five different sections,"

Lucius almost cringed when Harry enlarged the pile and it grew to take over almost three quarters of his desk. What had Black done, left Harry everything right down to the rugs? He picked his bottle of cream and tucked it into a drawer quietly; better to have it there than possibly lost under all of that.

"See why I haven't been able to get through it?" Harry asked wryly as he came around to the other side

"Indeed," Lucius commented dryly. "I presume you know which is which?"

"Yup. Land property in Europe, land property abroad, money and income, investments and percentages owned in companies, Gringotts vaults with liquid assets and miscellaneous holdings and property." Harry's fingers jumped from pile to pile as he named them.

Lucius rubbed his brow a bit as he surveyed the parchment. "This will easily take more than a day."

"I'm not exactly in a rush to get back home you know." Harry looked around before he looked at Lucius' chair. "Is that the only one in here?"

"Obviously."

Lucius sat up, intending to find something to transfigure. But the scars pulled sharply and he drew in a sharp breath. Harry perched on the side of the desk, looking at Lucius curiously.

"Are you all right? Please tell me you don't need to go back to St. Mungo's already."

Lucius gave Harry a look. "It's my scars."

"So why didn't you take care of them before?"

"I didn't anticipate stretching them beyond necessary."

"Well, what's wrong with them?"

"They're too tight," Lucius made a slight face. "I have to apply cream to them once a day."

"You make it sound like a bad thing. You could be missing chunks of your body."

"Thank you for that lovely mental image," Lucius replied in a withering voice. "But I'll be fine."

Harry snorted. "Where's the cream?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Where's the cream? You can sit there and act like it won't bother you or you can just get the damned stuff on now and be done with it."

"I'm fine," Lucius repeated again as Harry started looking through the top drawers. "You do not need to fuss over me."

Harry made a triumphant sound as he found the jar of cream. He held it up in a hand looking at it.

"Well, it's one of two things: you willingly take your shirt or I strip it off you. Either way, I'll get this stuff on you; your choice. But I'm not going to spend a good while looking over these documents while you grumble and hiss every time you pull on a scar."

Lucius took one look at Harry was still perched on the edge of the desk, only this time he had a cocky smile on his face as he rolled the jar between his hands. With a soft curse, he started undoing the buttons.

* * *

"Are you ready yet?" Harry called as he stepped out of the fireplace.

Hermione had asked him to come by her place before they went to the Burrow. Of course, he figured Hermione would have been ready by now, and he wouldn't have walked into an empty living room.

"In a moment!" Hermione's voice came from the second floor.

Harry looked around, rocking on his heels slightly. "Shouldn't you parents be home?"

"They went out for the night," Hermione called. "Er, Harry, could you come up here for a moment?"

Harry shook his head as he vanished the Floo powder from his cloak and started up the stairs. "What is it?"

"Just come!" Hermione exclaimed.

Harry walked up to her bedroom door and knocked before turning the knob slowly. A second later it flew from his hand as Hermione yanked the door open.

"Oh for Merlin's sake, I'm not naked you know. I called you up for a reason." She shook her head as she walked back into her bedroom.

"So what is it? You can't say I'm late getting ready for these things." Harry chided with a smirk on his face as he stepped in.

"You look nice by the way," she smoothed some wrinkles from her dress. "Now, how's my outfit? It's not too…"

Hermione trailed off as she spun around, and then looked anxiously at Harry. He really didn't know what she was worried about. She looked perfectly fine, even if her hair had to be weighed down with a container or two of Sleekeasy Hair Potion.

"Too what?"

"I don't know. The burgundy dress doesn't make me look too pale does it? Should I wear my hair up maybe?" Hermione grasped her wand as she pulled up a bunch of her hair, posing in front of the mirror.

"Er, maybe you should have asked Parvati for her help?"

"She couldn't make it; I tried asking her last week. She was busy right up until the dinner, so she's coming late."

Harry didn't say anything as Hermione nodded her head and, with a few swishes of her wand, had spelled her hair up a few moments later. Then she opened a small box and started looking over stuff.

"You're still _not_ done?" Harry groaned. "We're going to be late."

"I need some jewellery," Hermione replied a bit absently. "Something simple and – Harry!"

Harry had strode over and pushed her aside a bit, inspecting the box. After a few seconds, he reached in and pulled out a gold rose on a chain. He held it up questioningly and Hermione nodded her head.

"There, are you almost done now?" he asked as he put it on for her.

"Just need to get my shoes on as well as my cloak. Could you get my silver cloak pin from the top drawer there?" Hermione asked as she made her way to her closet.

Harry did that and when he turned around, Hermione was wobbling on one leg as she put on a boot. He was hard pressed to not laugh when she got one on and proceeded to do the same again with her other bare foot.

"You sure wearing heels is such a good idea?" he asked, a corner of his lips curled.

"Yes," Hermione said as she settled the cloak around her shoulders and took the pin from him. "Now, just a quick warming charm and we're off."

"Warming charm?" Harry asked.

"I told Mrs. Weasley I'd bring a bottle of wine. All we have to do is go and pick it up before Apparating over to Burrow." Hermione said as she grabbed her house keys and tossed them in her cloak pocket.

"Uh huh…" Harry said slowly as he took in Hermione's completed appearance. "And what time is Snape getting there?"

Hermione's cheeks coloured. "In about thirty minutes. He wanted to finish up with some preliminary potions works before he left." She cast a quick warming charm on her cloak and then on Harry's.

"All right then, we'd better get going." Harry said. "I don't think we want to leave Snape all alone with a bunch of Weasleys about. He might get vicious."

"He said he would try to keep his temper," Hermione explained as she ushered them from her room and down to the front door. "So either no one will really talk to him or someone will say something incredibly stupid and set him off."

Harry snorted as he stepped outside, the air cold against his face. Warming charms were such a useful spell in the winter. Hermione quickly locked the door and they set off down the street. It was snowing gently and their steps crunched in fluffy flakes.

"So how is Snape doing?" Harry asked.

"He's doing just fine," Hermione replied with a quick smile. "He's been working on a modification of Wolfsbane for almost three weeks now. He's hoping to make a more affordable potion rather than the current one."

"I'll bet Ravenna will be glad to hear about that."

"I have no doubt. He's hoping to have it completed before he takes his year off," Hermione frowned a little bit. "But even he thinks that might be a bit too much to accomplish."

"It's not like someone's hounding him for the new version. Wasn't he the one that kept saying stuff like, 'you can't rush a good potion'?"

"Good point," Hermione laughed. "Speaking of hounding, of sorts, your picture has been showing up the Daily Prophet a lot. In the company of one Lucius Malfoy."

Harry looked at her and was rewarded with a grin. "Well, there's a good reason for that."

"Oh? You're going to let the cat out of the bag before someone can beat you to it?"

"Not exactly; it's not like they have solid proof. Just wild theories…"

Hermione narrowed her eyes for a moment before she chuckled. "Harry, that is positively mean of you. That's exactly what you two want, isn't it? Everyone scratching their heads and trying to figure out just what's going on."

He shrugged. "Well, they'll be scratching their heads for a good while longer."

"A good while longer? What does that mean?" Hermione asked in a puzzled voice.

Harry sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. "I was going to tell you, Ron and Ginny before letting everyone else know. We're not staying here."

"You're not staying in London?"

"…We're not staying in the country."

"But…" Hermione sounded flustered now. "Where are you going to go?"

"We're not too sure yet. But I can tell you that we are going. We've made up our mind."

"Yes, but…" she didn't say anything for a moment. "Do you really have to do it now?"

"As great as it is spending the holidays with you guys, the whole Daily Prophet thing is going to get much worse before it gets any better. Don't you think I've earned some peace and quiet for myself for once? And not bothered by the daily flood of owls?"

"Well, yes, you have but…" Hermione bit her lip for a moment. "I don't want you to go."

Harry didn't say anything as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder and hugged her close. "I'll still write to you all. And we can come and visit every so often."

"So," Hermione gave a deep sigh. "This is like your farewell?"

"I guess it is in a way," Harry said quietly.

Hermione didn't say anything for a moment before she gave a wry snort. "You sure picked a rotten time. Mrs. Weasley will throw an absolute fit when you tell her this and that you're dating Lucius."

"Well, the official story is that I'm inspecting all the properties that I've inherited," Harry replied after a moment. "So hopefully she won't yell at me… too much."

"That is a lot of wishful thinking on your part," Hermione smiled for a moment.

"Yeah, I guess so," Harry gave a resigned sigh. "She'll try to lecture my ears off."

"Just try to not get too bored. Or lose your temper. Ah, here's the store."

It didn't take them long to go in and get the bottle of wine and even less time to Apparate onto the path to the Burrow. Even during the walk, they could hear loud music and chatter coming from the house. When the knocked on the front door, they were immediately sucked into the warm house. The wine was taken from Hermione by Mrs. Weasley and Ginny had dragged her off, claiming that Snape had just arrived and Ron looked like he was gearing up for an argument, despite Parvati's best efforts.

Harry had taken the chance to squeeze past the talking Mrs. Weasley and into the crowded living room. It seemed like room was magically enlarged and a good portion of the Order was there. He couldn't exactly blame them; they had every reason to be celebrating.

"Harry!"

He looked around, trying to see just where the person had called him from. A moment later, Fred and George popped around from behind Dedalus Diggle, who was in an animated conversation with Kinglsey about something.

"There you are," Fred, or George, said.

"Yeah, Ron's been looking for you. Said –"

"That Hermione said you wanted to talk to him –"

"And Gin about something."

"If you care to tell us what it –"

"We'll gladly pass along the message."

Harry looked between the grinning twins, unable to stop himself from chuckling. "No offence you two, but I think I'll tell them myself."

"Harry," both twins had an affronted and hurt look on their faces. "Is it that –"

"You don't trust us?"

"Of course it's not that I don't trust you," Harry patted them on the shoulder shaking his head slowly. "It's just that… well… I don't trust you."

And with that, he squeezed between the twins and vanished into the crowd once more, though he could have sworn one of the twins mumbled something like, "D'you reckon he's been taking a page from Dumbledore's book?" It was Ginny that found him first and after a few minutes more of circulating, they found Ron who had managed to find a corner to himself with Parvati. It took them considerably longer to weave their way through the press of people and up the stairs.

"Okay, it's great to be out of there," Ginny breathed in relief. "There're so many people down there!"

"Did your mum invite so many people on purpose?" Harry asked; he couldn't deny that he felt relieved as well.

"Not at first," Ron began as he sat down on the bedside. "It was just supposed to be the family. Mum says it might be nice to have a few people from the Order over as well and next thing you know…" he gestured vaguely to the door.

"Okay, so it'll be awhile before Mum realises we're gone," Ginny looked at Harry intently. "Look Harry, you really surprised me that day at St. Mungo's. I can't exactly say that I'm thrilled, but I'm not about to start throwing a hissy fit; he's who you chose and I'm not about to try and change your mind."

"So, you're okay with it?"

"I'm okay with it. Now," Ginny asked as she settled herself on the floor. "What did you want to talk to us about?"

"I don't really know of any best way to put this so I'm just going to say it." Harry began as he took a deep breath.

Ginny and Ron watched him as he felt the words start to dry up in his throat a bit.

"Um, this is the part when –" Ron began.

"We're leaving the country." Harry blurted out.

"Okay… that's the big thing?" Ginny asked a moment later.

"You didn't quite think it through, did you Harry?" Ron snickered. "I mean Charlie's in Romania and Bill's in Egypt. This isn't exactly a shocker you know."

"Oh," Harry felt like a complete idiot now. "Well, the official story is that I'm travelling to look over my properties. Make sure they're all there and accounted for."

"Sirius left you stuff?" Ron asked.

"It's more a matter of finding out what didn't he leave me," Harry explained. "It's going to take a long while and I really don't see how we can live here with everyone trying to get a glimpse into our lives."

"Just don't forget about us," Ginny admonished.

"Course not," Harry replied. "I'll still owl you all. I'll bet it won't take me as long since I won't have to deal with every other owl that comes my way."

"There is that," Ron laughed before he sobered up. "You sure this is what you want?"

"Positive." Harry said.

"All right," Ron clapped his hands on his knees. "Though you might want to tell Mum when everyone else is gone for the night… which might be awhile."

Harry nodded his head as he regarded the door. "Should we go back down now?"

"I don't want to go back down there yet." Ginny said quickly. "Ron?"

"Not particularly. But I don't want to leave Parv down there by herself. She'll yell at me."

"Why don't you go fetch her? I've got loads of candy in here, plus a chess set and an exploding snap deck."

"Brilliant!" Ron got to his feet and opened the door; a massive wall of sound came in. "I'll be back soon hopefully."

Harry laughed as Ron disappeared. Ginny reached under her bed, and drew out two boxes. She looked up at Harry as she started taking the stuff out.

"Really Harry, I'm glad you're happy." She said quietly. "If anyone deserves it, you do."

"Thanks Gin." Harry replied with smile.

"Besides," she gave him an impish smile. "There's just something very romantic about eloping."

"Ginny!" Harry exclaimed as his face went red. "We're not eloping!"

"Uh huh, sure you're not. You're only running off together."

Harry groaned as Ginny smirk grew wider; he'd forgotten about the mandatory teasing.

* * *

The snow was falling thickly now as Harry looked out his bedroom window one last time, his hand absently patted his pocket. Everything was finally arranged and the Daily Prophet and Witch Weekly were practically foaming at the mouth trying to figure out just what was going on in his love life. Pictures of him, Draco and Lucius were splashed where possible and apparently the copies were flying off the shelves. In less that two weeks the rumours were split down the middle somewhat. Apparently he had a spat with Draco and had taken up Lucius. But Draco could be coming back any day to reclaim Harry as his own.

The one thing that really made Harry laugh was that Draco was probably somewhere in Italy with Blaise, looking forward to Christmas in a few days.

The dinner at the Burrow that morphed into a party had been a smash. It hadn't been until sometime around two in the morning that Harry got to talk to everyone. Ron and Ginny had only stayed up to give some moral support. Not that Harry found he needed it. When he'd revealed that Lucius was his boyfriend, Charlie and Bill, who had a bit too much to drink, had started giggling. Mr. Weasley goggled at him. Percy blinked owlishly and then promptly fell asleep in his apple crumble which set Fred and George laughing along with Charlie and Bill. Mrs. Weasley was the only one who started to mount a protest, but Mr. Weasley had quickly shut down that possibility, claiming that it was too early to deal with something like this. He'd been summoned back again the next day and lectured until he thought his ears would fall off. Not that Mrs. Weasley said anything that changed his mind.

He had finished packing up all his clothes and was about ready to Floo over to the manor to meet up with Lucius. All he was waiting for was Remus to come over. He had offered Remus the use of his flat and Grimmauld Place while he was gone. All he had to do was give him the keys as soon as he came over. Besides, it would be much easier for Remus to have somewhere a bit bigger to do his work from. It hadn't taken him long to convert the spare bedroom into a secure room where Remus could transform after taking his Wolfsbane.

After a moment, he sighed and made his way from the bedroom and down to the living room. He'd finally cleared away all the papers and parchment that had accumulated on the table. Every inch of the place had been cleaned and was spotless.

A flaring sound from the fireplace caused him look up in time to see Remus step out and shake Floo powder from his hair. "I'm not late am I?"

"No, you're not," Harry smiled as he dug into his other pocket and drew out the keys. "This silver one is for the apartment. And this old one is for… well, you know."

"I know," Remus smiled as Harry placed the keys in his hands. "Packed already?"

"Yup." He patted his pocket firmly. "Just have to pop over to the manor. Lucius arranged the Portkey. He said it's set to go off at nine thirty."

"That's a few minutes from now," Remus frowned as he looked at his watch. "You're sure I can –"

"Yes, you can!" Harry exclaimed in exasperation. "No point in having it sitting here empty and collecting dust when someone could be using it for something. But no wild parties." He shook a finger with a mock frown.

Remus laughed at that. "You'd better get going before Lucius gets annoyed with you."

Harry nodded as he stepped into the fireplace. "Take care of yourself. I'll write you as soon as I can."

"You too Harry," Remus replied. "And enjoy yourself."

He nodded his head as he grasped a handful of Floo powder, threw it down and then was hurtling through a world of spinning green. When he finally came to a stop he stumbled out of the fireplace, tripping on the slight lip.

"You're as graceful as Tonks," came Lucius dry amused tone.

"Thanks, I only could have broken my neck," Harry groused. "At least I'm not late."

"Barely, since you have a minute and a half left."

"I still made it."

"Barely." Lucius repeated.

Harry's reply was to snort and stick his tongue out. Lucius chuckled as he leaned in and sucked in the bit of tongue that was still out of Harry's mouth. Harry inhaled sharply, moving his arms around Lucius as their tongues twisted and moved. After a few seconds, Lucius pulled back with a satisfied smirk.

"Hold on." Lucius whispered.

That was all that was left to echo in the front foyer as they both disappeared.

* * *


	39. Interlude Part One

_**Come the Maëlstrom**_

_Interlude – Part One_

As taken from the edition of Witch Weekly dating December 27, 1998 – January 2, 1999

_**Harry Potter and Lucius Malfoy – An Item for longer than thought!  
**Their possible hidden romance, revealed here!_

A Witch Weekly exclusive – Rose Yasutoko

The past few weeks have been filled with wild speculation about the Boy-Who-Defeated-He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named-Twice and his love life. He's mainly been spotted in the company of one Draco Malfoy, and, more recently, of the Malfoy patriarch, Lucius Malfoy. But anyone who has seen the He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named-Slayer in the company of the elder Malfoy cannot deny that something is there.

"I saw them at Gabaldon's; they looked quite cozy at their private table for two. Unfortunately, I couldn't hear anything, since the maitre'd had cast a privacy spell on their table. They looked much cosier together, rather than when Harry was with young Mr. Malfoy." says Ingrid Bithlewaite of Staffordshire.

Everyone who's seen them out and about during the past bit cannot deny this bit of evidence. As well, new facts are coming to light. It is well known that Lucius Malfoy was on trial for war crimes. But it has only been made full public knowledge that Harry Potter himself was one of the witnesses who testified for the defendant. As well, when he was kidnapped by the Death Eaters along with Lucius Malfoy, it has been discovered that the Boy-Who-Lived was found clinging to Lucius.

After much pleading, this exclusive interview with Harry Potter's ex, Seamus Finnegan, has been obtained. Do keep in mind that it has been extensively cleaned up and all expletives have been replaced with the appropriate words, which, unfortunately, might make the interview seem rather odd.

**Rose Yasutoko**: Thank you for agreeing to this interview.  
**Seamus Finnegan**: Sure. It's not like you would stop until I granted one.  
**RY**: So, you were once in a relationship with the Boy-Who-Lived.  
**SF**: (pauses and fidgets) Yeah, I was seeing Harry for a bit at Hogwarts.  
**RY**: How was the relationship?"  
**SF**: It was well.  
**RY**: What caused you two to split up?  
**SF**: He didn't like how everyone wouldn't shut their traps about us… which should tell you something.  
**RY**: Of course, of course. Now, is it true that you tried to get back together with him?  
**SF**: What the…! How the fudge did you find that out!  
**RY**: I have my sources. Is it true?  
**SF**: Yeah. Didn't work though, said that things had fudgin' changed.  
**RY**: So it has nothing to do with the fact that he was found clinging to Lucius Malfoy when the Aurors found him.  
**SF**: pauses for a long moment How the oh Merlin hell are you finding out all this stuff! Who the fudge said he was clinging to him!  
**RY**: Please Mr. Finnegan, I am a journalist. It's my duty to present the whole story as best I can. Do you think it (your attempt) failed because something happened between Lucius Malfoy and Harry Potter during their confinement and subsequent torture at the hands of the Death Eaters?  
**SF**: (pauses and then rises) See if you can write this into your dumb article! (gestures) This fudgin' oh Merlin interview is over.

Upon trying to reach the Boy-Who-Slayed-He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, for confirmation of Mr. Finnegan's interview, I was unable to establish contact. When trying to contact his last known friends, I was informed that the Boy-Who-Lived-Thrice is currently busy attending to a private matter and won't be reachable for quite some time. Rest assured, dear readers, that the truth, and every juicy detail there in, behind this will be revealed by none other than yours truly.

- Rose Yasutoko


	40. Interlude Part Two

_**Come the Maëlstrom**_

_Interlude – Part Two_

The snow was falling much more thickly there. In fact, it looked as if it was well on its way to becoming a blizzard. Harry was sitting by the window, perusing the large breakfast prepared by the house elves. Lucius was still fast asleep in the bedroom.

They had just planned to pick somewhere at random, but the Lucius had suggested that they head to Canada first. Harry did have property to look at there and Lucius had a place in Ottawa. Though the place Harry had to look at was in Vancouver, so he didn't quite see how Ottawa was all that close. Not that Harry had really minded; he wasn't in a big rush to get everything done with.

When they had arrived last night, they'd been greeted by a small army of house elves who were pleased that they had someone to cater to once again. After a quick tour of the house, they had spent the rest of the evening in front of the fire talking. They'd been in Ottawa for almost a week and weren't inclined to hurry along.

"You're up rather early," Lucius' voice sounded.

Harry turned to see Lucius standing in the doorway, wearing a dark grey robe. "I was hungry. Plus I wanted to read the newspaper."

Lucius chuckled as he sauntered over and took a seat at the small breakfast table. "Are they still driving themselves mad?"

Harry put down his toast, snapped out the Daily Prophet to the society pages and cleared his throat. "Speculation that the Boy-Who-Slayed-He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named… sheesh, where do they come up with these stupid names? Anyway, Speculation that the Boy-Who-Slayed-He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is indeed having a tryst with wizarding aristocrat Lucius Malfoy is at an all time high. Conflicting reports and no confirmation from both parties leaves nothing confirmed or denied." He closed it and placed it back on top of the other paper.

"How lovely," Lucius mused dryly as he took a pancake.

"Wait, it gets better. I've got a copy of this week's Witch Weekly." Harry snickered.

He grabbed the rolled Witch Weekly and unfurled it. There on the cover was a large photo of him and Lucius from when they had brunch at Mercutio's. Right above was the large text of, "Harry Potter and Lucius Malfoy – An Item for longer than thought!"

"This one is the best. She managed to get a hold of Seamus and tried to wrangle something out of him. He closed up like a clam." Harry grinned. "If I didn't know any better, I'd swear that Skeeter just changed her name and her appearance."

"You don't know how likely that really is," Lucius replied as he put some blueberries on his plate. "Should the weather clear up is there anything you want to do today?"

"I thought it might be nice to give skating a try. Apparently you can skate on the…" he paused and reached for yet another newspaper, riffling through it quickly. "Rideau Canal. Or we can see the Christmas lights."

Lucius didn't say anything for a moment before he spoke softly. "…Ou nous pouvons retourner a le lit 1."

Harry gawked at Lucius before he managed to swallow. "Say that again."

A slow smirk came to Lucius' face as he said it again. All Harry could focus on was his voice and the way the words just rolled off them and wrapped around him. He could already feel his skin tingling in anticipation.

"I have no clue what you said, but whatever it is, I completely agree." Harry finally replied a moment later, immensely glad he hadn't bothered to change out of his pyjamas.

Lucius rose from his seat, ignoring his untouched breakfast, and coming over to Harry's seat, pulling him out gently towards the bedroom.

"Je te veux embrasser dans mes bras et ne pas rien de lâcher," Lucius whispered as he leaned in to nuzzle Harry's neck. "Tu as mon coeur dans tes main.2"

"Or we can just stay in today." Harry replied a bit breathlessly.

He kicked the door shut with his foot, breakfast and newspapers completely forgotten.

* * *

1 Ou nous pouvons retourner a le lit. - Or we can go back to bed.  
2 Je te veux embrasser dans mes bras et ne pas rien de lâcher. Tu as mon coeur dans tes main. - I want to hold you in my arms and never let go. You have my heart in your hands.  
Author's notes will be posted on my website and explain just why Lucius said something like this.

* * *


	41. Epilogue

**Come the Maëlstrom**

Epilogue

Valencia yawned as she shuffled into the kitchen. She set up a kettle on the stove and took out four mugs before she shook her head and put two back. She dropped in teabags and the requisite teaspoon of sugar before she took them over to the table and sat down. Her gaze travelled out the window, taking in the small garden and wide space that the barn was on the other side of it.

The vegetables were doing all right, but it was nothing compared to when Harry and Lucius had been tending the garden. It seemed like it was wilting much more than usual. She could be crazy but it seemed like the garden missed those two. The whole farm seemed so much different without them around, not as lively or half as interesting.

She sighed heavily as the kettle whistled. Taking it off the stove, she brought it over to the table and filled up her mug, before placing the kettle on a small, insulated porcelain tile stand. She stirred the tea slowly and sipped it every so often, still looking outside. Ernesto came into the kitchen stretching and then scratching at his chest.

-Morning.- he said, coming over to give her a kiss.

-Morning.- she replied back quietly, her eyes still fixed on the garden.

Ernesto looked at her as he sat down and fixed his cup of tea.- You all right? -

Valencia nodded before she went back to sipping her tea.- Do you think we should have had a kid?- she asked suddenly.

Ernesto choked a bit on his tea and spluttered.- What? This again? -

-I'm just wondering. -

-We talked it over and we both agreed not to. I even got snipped!- Ernesto sounded a bit panicked.

-I know and you were so good about that. - Valencia said as she gave him a sweet smile.

-Are you feeling that maternal? -

Valencia shrugged.- The house just feels so empty now, like there should be someone else here. -

-Well, they might be able to reverse getting snipped but I sure as hell ain't going through _that_,- Ernesto snorted.- Why don't we talk about this later when we're more awake? We can at least think of ways to get through this. Sound good? -

Valencia nodded her head and they both went back to drinking their tea. When Ernesto finished his, he rose and disappeared. The sound of the front door opening and closing told her that Ernesto had gone out to get the mail.

Mail was about the only thing that could cheer her up nowadays. It was well over a year since she and Ernesto had been kidnapped and almost a year and a half since they had come back to the farm. It was only a month after that when she and Ernesto decided to subscribe to the Daily Prophet to keep track of what was happening. The Aurors, who had stayed a bit longer to make absolutely sure nothing else happened, had been more than happy to help them out. They took them to the nearest wizard bank branch in the area where an account had been set up.

She'd read about Lucius' trial and was glad that he wasn't going to be incarcerated in that Azkaban place. She could tell from the writer's tone and brevity that it obviously wasn't a great place. When the story of Harry's kidnapping made front page, Ernesto had to go through hell to convince her to not book plane tickets for them both over there. Their presence might cause more problems for Harry, and they could only read the paper avidly for any small detail that was reported and hope for the best.

When Harry had been found alive, she'd been relieved. But all the papers had said was that he'd suffered extensive injuries. She felt worried sick and had done her best to distract herself from thoughts of Harry.

And then, the only thing that surfaced in the papers about Harry were the occasional sightings. At least she knew that he was fine then. What took her by surprise was when his picture started appearing more in the paper, especially with him and a younger blond boy that was almost certainly Lucius' son. She didn't know what Harry was planning but she was delighted when a picture of Harry and Lucius in a swanky restaurant warranted a good portion of the society pages.

There had been a flurry of sightings for the two weeks, practically one or even two pictures a day. And then, a few days before Christmas, there was nothing. The papers were obviously baffled and were cranking out more articles filled with speculation from what Valencia guessed to be wizarding socialites. All the quotes from Harry's friends said that he was away taking care of a private matter and couldn't be reached. The blond boy, who indeed was Lucius' son, released an official statement from Milan, saying his father was doing something, that he didn't know what and he would like to be left alone to enjoy his holidays in peace and quiet.

It was shortly after that when the postcards and letters started arriving from them. The first one came from Ottawa in Canada. Now there were almost three shoeboxes filled with postcards and letters stamped from places all around the globe. In fact, she'd lost count; it was a whole slew of places. The last letter they had received was about two weeks ago, from Naples, Italy.

-Hey, look at this!- Ernesto called as he came back into the kitchen.- We got another letter! -

Valencia looked up to see him dump the bills and whatnot on the countertop and come to the table, already pulling out the parchment and unfolding it. She pulled her chair in closer to his, seeing photos fall out. Ernesto fumbled trying to catch them but Valencia scooped them up quickly.

-Well, aren't you going to read it? -

-All right, all right, you nag.- Ernesto said as he chuckled and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

Valencia swatted him playfully on the head, resting her head against his shoulder as he began to read.

_'Dear Ernesto and Valencia,_

_I know we've been somewhat lazy in writing to you. I suppose we got caught up with sightseeing in Naples. Lucius found a nice little villa with a vineyard that we were looking at. It was too good to pass up so we bought it. Not fun doing the paperwork and what not. I'm just glad we got Draco's help, since his Italian is much better. He wasn't too thrilled to leave Rome for a few days, though he seemed happier when we said he and Blaise could use it when they needed to._

_We're in France now and have been for the past week. We definitely got caught up in visiting sights in the French countryside. Aix-en-Provence is absolutely beautiful; the countryside is amazing, everybody is so friendly and the food is nothing short of fantastic! I've learned some new recipes but I think Lucius might be worried that he's getting a bit fat from all the good eating we've been doing lately._

_And I'm actually learning a bit of French. What's a bit of one more language to join the mishmash that I picked up? It does have its benefits; Lucius loves it when I speak in French to him when we're in bed and vice versa.'_

Valencia snickered as she saw the messy, half-hearted attempt to scribble out that sentence.

_'Lucius is chiding me now for saying too much, but I think you get my drift. We've been staying at a small estate that been in Lucius' family for a bit now. Yesterday we threw a huge party and invited everyone from town. Well, it was more that I invited a few people and more and more people showed up before practically the entire town was there and Lucius pretty much went along with it. It was an absolute blast even though I woke up with a killer hangover. Lucius wouldn't stop saying, "I told you so" which made it all the worse._

_We're packing up to head down to Madrid now, so don't be surprised if we pop by for a visit in a week or so._

_Take care, don't work too much and we'll see you soon!_

_Love,  
Harry and Lucius'_

Valencia motioned Ernesto over, and he bumped his chair closer to her. One of the photos showed Harry and Lucius sitting beneath what looked like an oak tree. Lucius was smiling and Harry was waving. Another one showed them at the beach during a sunset and the last one was a picture of Lucius and Harry napping on a hammock, black and blond hair ruffled together by the wind. When Ernesto turned it over, they saw that someone had scribbled on the back, 'Ils est trés mignon'.

-They're coming to visit?- Valencia sat back up abruptly.

- Well, I sure hope they come today,- Ernesto said.- All we pretty much have to do is pop into town once we feed the animals. I'm just glad I shaved the sheep and baled the wool yesterday. -

-But I need to tidy up and –- Valencia began.

-Do you really think that's going to matter to them? They lived here for a bit Valencita.- Ernesto stated.

-Yeah…- Valencia said slowly.

-Come on, why don't we take care of things here and head into town early? Maybe stop by the café and have a quick cup of coffee. -

-That sounds good. -

* * *

The sun was setting when the truck was jouncing back along the road to the house. They had taken the bales of wool in with them and sold them to a buyer, had a quick cup of coffee at a café and then spent much of the day at the farmer's market, selling what wasn't to be sold off to a big buyer. They had only stopped off at the bank to deposit a sizeable chunk of money and grab something quick to fix up for dinner at the grocery store. Valencia was far too tired to attempt cooking tonight. 

When the truck came to a stop close to the house, Valencia wearily got out, slamming the door shut.

-I'll go feed the animals. You want to heat up dinner? -

-Sounds good to me.- Valencia said.- Try to not fall asleep in the hay. -

Ernesto snorted in amusement but nodded his head as he went to the barn. Valencia walked into the house, the smell of something fragrant wafting to her nose. It smelled absolutely delicious but the reason it would be there was a bit of a mystery. She frowned as she sniffed and realised it was coming from her kitchen. She swung the door open and saw two figures seated at the table, talking quietly.

-Harry, what have I told you about cooking in my kitchen?- she asked in exasperation before she froze, eyes widening.- Harry! Lucius! -

She couldn't help but stare at them for a while. They were sitting there like they had never left, mugs in hand and smiles on their faces.

-Hi Valencia,- Harry said.- I hope you don't mind. You weren't here so we let ourselves in and – -

-Valencia!- Ernesto came bursting in through the back door.- You won't believe this! The animals are fed already! -

-Well, someone had to.- Lucius said simply as he raised his mug to drink from it.

Ernesto turned and gaped at them both, not quite grasping that they were sitting there. Then Valencia gave a cry of delight and rushed forward, throwing an arm around their shoulders and hugging them both as tightly as she could.

-Ack! Be careful! The tea's hot!- Harry exclaimed.

Valencia simply tutted in dismissal and continued to hug them. When she finally let go and sat down in a free seat, Harry's face was red and Lucius looked highly amused. She couldn't stop the smile from growing on her face.

-You even made dinner.- Ernesto had taken off the lid and was peering into the pot with a hungry look in his eyes.

-The stew's just keeping warm. Why don't you both sit down and I'll fix you some bowls.- Harry said as he rose.

Valencia couldn't help but grin as Harry made his way over to the stove and shooed Ernesto back to the table. Ernesto gave Harry a light punch to the shoulder and rumpled his hair with a grin before he ambled back.

-He's a very good cook actually.- Lucius said conversationally.- He makes me test out anything new that he makes. -

Valencia snickered as Lucius cast a slightly mournful glance at his waist.

-We just got your letter from Provence today,- Ernesto began as he sat down and made himself comfortable.- Seems like you two have been travelling the world. -

-It was something we discussed a long time ago.- Lucius replied.- We just picked what seemed the most opportune time to leave. -

-Are you going back to England after you're done here?- Valencia asked.

-Nope.- Harry said as he placed a bowl in front of her and then Ernesto.- I don't think we would go back aside from visiting. -

Lucius nodded his head in agreement, taking another drink of his tea. Valencia watched as Harry fixed two more bowls and brought them to the table before getting a basket of bread and taking it to the table.

-Well, then where are you going to live?- Ernesto asked, slightly puzzled.

-We've been looking at places.- Lucius said as he reached for a piece of bread.

-You know the house a good bit away from here?- Harry said mildly as he stirred up his stew.

-That one closer to the river a few miles away?- Ernesto asked.

-Yes, that one.- Lucius said with a smirk.

Valencia took in Lucius' smirk and the slight smile on Harry's face.- You two didn't!- she gasped.

-Huh?- Ernesto looked at her with a completely lost expression.

Harry grinned like a mad fool.- We did. -

-That's wonderful!- Valencia said, rubbing at her eyes as they started to prickle.

-Hey, are you all right?- Ernesto abandoned his stew.- What's going on?- he looked back between Harry and Lucius.

-They're the new neighbours.- Valencia managed with a sniffle, her vision blurring.

-Seriously! That's great! -

Valencia blinked and saw Ernesto clapping Harry heartily on the back. She looked at Lucius as found that he was offering her a handkerchief. She took it and wiped away the tears.

-I don't think we could have asked for better neighbours.- she finally said.

-Same here,- Ernesto agreed.- Last guy who lived there a few years back, said I have the goats from hell. -

-He wasn't that far off,- Lucius replied easily.- Though I might say denizens of hell. -

-Sure they can be a bit temperamental, but there's nothing wrong with my goats!- Ernesto bristled slightly.

-Of course you don't think so. You're biased.- Lucius retorted.

Ernesto huffed before he gave an evil grin.- So, what does 'mignon' mean? -

Lucius sputtered a bit.- I don't know what you're talking about. -

-Ils est trés mignon…- Ernesto put on a fluttery voice.- C'mon, you must know what it means! -

Valencia smiled and Ernesto and Lucius started arguing about 'mignon'. She laughed and shook her head, with a content sigh. She glanced at Harry and found him looking at her. He gave her a smile and motioned to her bowl. She smiled back and started eating. And, finally, everything felt right again.

* * *


End file.
